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THE 



BELOVED PHYSICIAN 



THE LIFE AND TRAVELS 



LUKE THE EVANGELIST. 



BY WILLIAM A.<ALCOTT. 



REVISED BY THE EDITOR, 
D. P. KIDDER. 



NEW-YORK: 

PUBLISHED BY G. LANE & C. B. TIPPETT, 

FOR THE SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL 

CHURCH, 200 MULBERRY-STREET. 

J. Collord, Printer. 






Entered, according to Act ot Congress, in the year 1S45, by 
G. Lane & C. B. Tippett, in the Clerk's Office of the District 
Court of the Southern District of New-York. 



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TO THE READER. 



Most writers of Bible biography have 
been discouraged with attempts at preparing 
an account of Luke the evangelist, because 
his early history is involved in so much 
obscurity. I had the same difficulty to 
encounter; and it was not without much 
hesitation that I came to the conclusion to 
attempt it. 

Some of the reasons which influenced me 
in making the attempt are the following : — 
1 . The remarkable — not to say excessive — 
modesty of Luke has kept him out of the 
sight of most Christians, and prevented him 
from reflecting all the light upon the world 
to which his eminent example has entitled 
him. 2. His natural brightness appears to 
have been obscured by the more brilliant 
course of the great apostle, with whom he 



6 TO THE READER. 

was so constantly associated. 3. It is by- 
no means necessary, in writing the life of an 
individual, to tell more than we know. The 
latter part of Luke's life is so important, that 
though the earlier part is obscure, we may 
derive much advantage from studying what 
is known. 

It will be perceived that I have endeavor- 
ed to keep up a line of demarkation between 
the known and the unknown of this great 
man's life. That which is known should be 
received ; that which is conjectural may be 
received or rejected, at the option of the 
reader ; or rather, according as the evidence 
for or against it seems to him to preponderate. 

Author. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER L 

Conjectures respecting Luke's birthplace, parentage, 
and early history ..... Page 1 1 

CHAPTER It 

Nothing known of his early history, nor of that of 
many persons mentioned in sacred history — Luke and 
Paul meet at Troas 17 

CHAPTER III. 
Luke, Paul, Silas, and Timothy undertake a voyage 
to Macedonia — Arrival at Philippi ... 22 

CHAPTER IV. 
Account of Philippi — Its inhabitants were idolators 29 

CHAPTER V. 

Missionary labors at Philippi — Conversion of Lydia 
— Paul casts a spirit of divination out of a young woman, 
at which her masters being enraged, Paul and Silas are 
seized and brought before the magistrates . . 37 

CHAPTER VI. 

Paul and Silas are beaten, thrust into prison, and their 

feet made fast in the stocks — Conjectures respecting 

Luke and Timothy — The prisoners are miraculously 

delivered 56 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Paul takes his departure, leaving Luke at Philippi — 
Sundry conjectures as to how Luke spent his time 
there Page 65 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Luke leaves Philippi for Troas, where he again joins 
Paul 89 

CHAPTER IX. 

•Luke and Paul visit Ephesus — Affecting scene at 
their departure — Arrival at Patara ... 95 

CHAPTER X. 

Voyage to and arrival at Tyre — Some account of that 
city 110 

CHAPTER XI. 

Luke and Paul, in their journey, anive at Ptolemais 
and Cesarea, at which latter place they continue some 
time 116 

| CHAPTER XII. 

f 

Their return to Jerusalem — Meeting of the church 
on their arrival — Paul's imprisonment . . 123 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Luke embarks with Paul for Italy — Notices of the 
voyage— A storm at sea 129 



CONTENTS. 9 

CHAPTER XIV. 

The ship driven ashore upon the island of Malta and 
wrecked ; but the passengers and crew all get safe to 
land Page 147 

CHAPTER XV. 

Some account of the island on which Luke, Paul, and 
their companions were cast — Kindness of the inhabit- 
ants and governor — They abide there three months 155 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Voyage from Malta to Rome — Arrival there 164 

CHAPTER XVII. 
Concluding remarks 173 



THE 

BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 



CHAPTER I. 

EARLY HISTORY OF LUKE. 

The origin and birth-place of Luke the 
evangelist are involved in so much obscurity 
that this chapter will be chiefly conjectural. 
We know little of him with absolute certainty 
till he was nearly seventy years of age. 

The Bible speaks of Luke, the beloved 
physician, of Lucius of Cyrene, and of 
Lucius, the kinsman of Paul ; and Lucius, 
as is well known, is the same with Luke, 
only that it has a Roman termination, while 
Luke has not. My own belief is, that all 
these were the same individual. 

Cyrene, the birth-place of Lucius — one at 
least of the persons mentioned under this 
name — was a part of what is now called 



12 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

Barca, in Africa ; but the region of country 
called Barca was at that time a part of 
Lybia. Lybia, or Barca, was west of Egypt, 
and south of Greece. Its extent is not 
known. 

The city of Cyrene was about eight hun- 
dred miles west of Cesarea, in Palestine, and 
one hundred and seventy-five miles south of 
Athens and Corinth. It was about two hun- 
dred and fifty miles west of Alexandria, in 
Egypt. It did not stand exactly on the shore 
of the Mediterranean Sea, but at the distance 
of about eleven miles from it. 

It has sometimes been said of Simon the 
Cyrenian, who bore the cross of our Saviour 
up the hill of Calvary, that he was a negro. 
But the truth is, that the Cyrenians were not 
negroes. They were descended from Ja- 
pheth, like the Europeans ; and though like 
the Moors of the Barbary states, Egypt, 
Abyssinia, etc., they were dark-colored; they 
had features like our own, and not like the 
genuine Africans. 

The opinion already expressed, that Lucius 
of Cyrene and Luke the evangelist were the 
same, is that which has been adopted by many 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 13 

of the learned ; and though not quite as well 
established as that Saul of Tarsus and Paul 
the apostle were the same, is nevertheless, 
in all probability, correct. On the presump- 
tion of its truth I have based the following 
conjectures and views. 

If Luke the evangelist was born in Cyrene,* 
it is by no means improbable that one of his 
parents — perhaps his mother — was a Jew 
from Palestine ; and that about the time of 
our Saviour's appearance he removed to Je- 
rusalem. Perhaps he went there to pursue 
the practice of medicine. He was certainly 
a physician ; and as Alexandria, in Egypt, 
afforded the best medical school then in the 
world, it is not unnatural to suppose that after 
receiving his education there he went to Je- 
rusalem. 

Here he must have become acquainted 
with the Saviour and his followers ; for in 
the introduction to his Gospel he speaks of 
having "had a perfect understanding of all 
things" pertaining to the ministry of Christ, 

* Dr. Cave and many other writers give Antioch, the 
capital of Syria, as Luke's birth-place, and suppose him 
to have been a Jew. — Ed. 



14 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN-. 

" from the very first," which can hardly be 
accounted for, except on the supposition that 
he resided in some one of the cities of Pales- 
tine. Why that city must have been Jerusa- 
lem will appear hereafter. 

Some have believed he was one of the 
seventy disciples whom our Saviour sent out 
into Galilee. Others, with more reason, say 
he was at least one of the " one hundred and 
twenty" mentioned in the second chapter of 
the Acts. The minuteness of the account 
there contained — for it must be remembered 
it was Luke who gave it — is no small con- 
firmation of this opinion. 

When the day of Pentecost arrived, with 
its outpourings of the divine Spirit, Luke 
probably received a new impulse in the cause 
of Christ. Perhaps he was led, from this 
time forth, to devote himself entirely to the 
labors of a missionary ; to become a willing 
sacrifice — body, soul, and spirit : but this, 
of course, cannot be affirmed. 

But admitting all these conjectures con- 
cerning Luke to be well founded, what is 
more likely than that the persecution by Paul, 
in which Stephen fell, and by which all the 



THE BELOYED PHYSICIAN. 15 

Christians, except the apostles, were driven 
from Jerusalem, and scattered over the ad- 
joining countries, drove away Luke the evan- 
gelist ? We are expressly told that some of 
them went as far as Antioch, in Syria. 

Here, at Antioch, some ten or twelve years 
afterward, we find the first church which 
was called by the name of Christ, and it 
appears to have been large and flourishing. 
Here, among the rest, were " certain prophets 
and teachers," one of whom was Lucius of 
Cyrene, or, as I believe, Luke the evange- 
list. 

Whether Luke was acquainted with Paul 
before this time, is not at all certain. If we 
suppose he was,* this may afford a reason 
why Barnabas was early commissioned by 
this same church to go to Tarsus and seek 
out the converted Paul, and bring him to 
Antioch, to employ him in their service. 
And, again, after an acquaintance with each 
other, as fellow-laborers in the cause of 
Christ, may not Paul and Barnabas have had 

* This consideration would have still greater weight, 
if we could prove that Luke was the kinsman of 
Paul. 



16 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

great influence in bringing Luke before the 
world as a religious teacher ? For a religious 
teacher he certainly was late in life, and 
he must have made a beginning at some 
time. 

Whether Luke remained at Antioch, during 
the somewhat long period which elapsed be- 
fore he was found by Paul at Troas, or whe- 
ther he went abroad on missionary excursions, 
either alone or in company with Paul, or 
others, is quite problematical. From what 
we learn of his character in his subsequent 
life, however, it is more reasonable to believe 
that he remained chiefly at home, laboring for 
the good of souls among those with whom 
he was more or less acquainted. 

Perhaps he practiced medicine all this 
while. It is now well known that the prac- 
ticing physician has many advantages, as a 
missionary, over other individuals ; and Luke 
may have availed himself, during his abode 
at Antioch, of this means of access to the 
minds and hearts of his fellow-men. 

Antioch, at this time, was a large city, and 
if it was like the cities of modern times, and 
we have no reason to believe it was in any 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 17 

respect better, it must have afforded ample 
scope for doing good, in every way, to body 
and soul. In a city population of two hun- 
dred and fifty thousand, and Antioch could 
hardly have contained less, there would be 
work for half a dozen, or a dozen, "beloved 
physicians." 



CHAPTER II. 

LUKE AT TROAS. 

Having thus glanced at the probable early 
history of Luke, we come to a period of his 
life where we have good authority for our 
statements. 

Paul had been converted ; had traveled in 
Arabia, preached in Damascus and Jerusa- 
lem, resided at Tarsus, labored at Antioch, 
acted as a missionary many years in Asia 
Minor ; and, in company with Timothy and 
Silas, his assistant missionaries and fellow- 
travelers, had come to Troas, a small city 
in the north-western part of the last-men- 
tioned country, near the site of the ancient 
Troy. 

2 



18 THE BEHOVED PHYSICIAN. 

Here he meets with Luke the evangelist, 
and here, surprising as it may seem, espe- 
cially when we consider that the latter was 
now nearly seventy years old, we are com- 
pelled to begin his history. 

If this were the only instance of the 
kind, however, to be met with in the Bible, 
we might wonder much more than now. 
Nothing is more common than to find, in 
the sacred volume, mere fragments of the 
history of many excellent men and women. 
We may wish there had been more said 
about them ; but our wishes are vain. The 
Holy Spirit has not seen fit to cause more to 
be recorded. 

H(*w little do we know, for example, of 
Simeon and Anna ; and what do we know 
at all of them, up to seventy or eighty years 
of age ! How little do we know of Elijah, 
till he was a grown man ; and of Elisha, till 
he was called from the plough, in middle life, 
to follow and aid Elijah ! How little do we 
know of most of the prophets and apostles, 
except, perhaps, their parents' names, and 
the place where they were born, till we begin 
to hear of them at thirty, forty, or fifty years 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 19 

of agej How little, in fact, do we know 
of those of whom the Bible says most ! 
How little do we know of the Saviour up to 
his thirtieth year — how very little ! And, 
even after his mission commenced, we have 
the high authority of the beloved John for 
saying, that but few of the many things 
which he said and did are recorded. 

There are plain reasons, however — at 
least they seem to me to be such — for this 
arrangement of divine Providence. Nearly 
one thousand persons are mentioned in the 
Bible, about half of whom make such a figure 
in it, at some part or other of their lives, that 
we should be quite glad to know more about 
them than the Bible has recorded. 

But suppose our curiosity could have been 
indulged ; suppose the Bible had contained, 
in their respective places, full and extended 
biographies of five hundred people. Would 
it, in that case, have done as much good as 
now ? Who would have read it ? Who could 
have found the time ? Who would have had 
the disposition ? Who, in fact, could have 
afforded it ? For, not to speak of by-gone 
days, when printing was not known, and all 



20 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

books were written out, at great pains and 
expense, a book which contained all this 
would have been more like an encyclopedia, 
for size, than a Bible ; and very few would 
have bought it. 

Let us cease to wonder, then — or, at least, 
let us not complain — when we find so little 
to be certain about, concerning Luke, till he 
was sixty-eight or sixty-nine years of age. 
Let us be thankful, rather, that we know so 
much about him after that period, and that 
what we know is favorable. For though we 
can trace his course but a few years — about 
fifteen — yet his path for that short period is 
a bright one. If he was not a star of the 
first magnitude in the Christian constellation, 
as Paul was, yet his light was clear and 
steady. If he did not dazzle the world, like 
a meteor, he astonished it by his firmness 
and perseverance. 

Paul, as I have observed already, met with 
him at Troas. It is not said that he met him 
by appointment, or the contrary. Yet I am 
strongly inclined to the opinion that it was 
by appointment. No surprise is expressed at 
his being there ; at least, none is recorded : 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 21 

yet he was an old man, many hundred miles 
from Antioch, and apparently alone. Would 
nothing have been said about this had the 
meeting been wholly unexpected ? 

Whether, however, they met at Troas by 
appointment or not, I have no doubt that 
their being associated with each other, in the 
great work of foreign missions, was by ap- 
pointment — the special appointment of Hea- 
ven. Experience has shown, in all ages, 
the importance of uniting, in a work like 
that of missions, the wisdom of age with the 
activity of youth. Timothy was young, and 
neither Paul nor Silas was as yet old. How 
admirable the wisdom which brought together, 
in a work so important, the experience of Luke, 
the strength and ardor of Paul, in middle age, 
and the youthful activity of Timothy ! 

Paul had seen a vision at Troas, which he 
had reason to believe was from the Lord. 
This vision had led him to decide on going to 
Europe, and on going immediately. Europe 
lay to the north-west, across the north-eastern 
part of the Mediterranean Sea, and the strait 
which unites that sea to the Euxine and Black 
Sea. 



22 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN, 

CHAPTER III. 

JOURNEY TO MACEDONIA. 

"A man is known by the company he 
keeps ;" and we may know something of 
Luke by his company. I am the more dis- 
posed to take this method of rendering my 
readers acquainted with him, because we 
have so little opportunity of becoming ac- 
quainted with him in any other manner. 

For it is a most remarkable fact that, though 
he wrote the Gospel that goes by his name, 
and the whole of the Acts of the Apostles, 
he says not a word about himself, except to 
speak of himself, sometimes, as belonging 
to the company in which he travels, or the 
household in which he resides. He tells, for 
example, what Peter did, and what Paul did, 
and what Timothy did, but never of what 
Luke did, except in a few instances to say, 
we did it. So that we are obliged to make 
out what he was, and what he did, indirectly, 
or by inference. 

And now, in particular, while beginning his 
history, I must be permitted to go into detail 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN, 23 

a little more than usual. This journey, and 
the results of this journey, are among the 
more important and interesting parts or events 
of Luke's life. 

The men who were to be associated with 
him in his foreign mission have already been 
adverted to, and their character is well known. 
Paul was the most remarkable, and Timothy, 
from his youth, perhaps least so. Yet were 
they all first-rate men ; and it is doubtful, to 
say the least, whether a better set of mission- 
aries was ever sent out. 

They had no families with them ; nor any 
servants. As to families, they probably had 
none, except, perhaps, Silas. But, however 
this may be, they had nobody with them. 
As to servants, they served one another. It 
is, to be sure, highly probable that Timothy 
sometimes " drew water" for Luke and Paul, 
as Elisha ministered to Elijah ; not because 
he was inferior to either, but because he was 
their junior. 

They were about to set out on a long 
journey. Six or eight hundred miles from 
home already, they were about to increase 
the distance by four or five hundred, and this 



24 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

among those who were utter strangers to 
them. What sort of danger were they to 
encounter ? and how were they to arm them- 
selves against their foes ? Was it with the 
panoply of earth or of heaven ? 

On this latter point there cannot be a doubt. 
They neither wore swords, nor carried spears. 
And yet braver, more fearless men never 
went abroad. Some of them had been already 
tried. The rest were ready for the trial, when- 
ever they should be called. " In the dread 
name of Israel's God" they trusted. They 
made no boast of their courage : they did 
not speak of it, but acted it. 

And now for their mode of traveling. 
This, on other occasions, was various. Here 
they had their choice between two modes 
only. One way was to walk, the other to 
go by water. The latter was the easier, 
more speedy, and probably less expensive 
way. The former was that to which, even 
at their age, they were accustomed ; but it 
would require almost as many weeks as a 
journey by water would days. 

They, therefore, determined to take ship. 
But what sort of a ship could they sail in ? 



i 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 25 

Had they, in those days, any steam ships ? 
Had they even any packet ships ? Were 
there ships of war traversing the Mediterra- 
nean in those days, as there often are now, 
in which they could, perchance, procure a 
passage ? None of these ; not one. The 
vessels which traversed those seas, at that 
time, were chiefly, if not wholly, merchant 
vessels. They were some of them quite 
large ; but they were all heavily constructed, 
and slow of speed. They kept in sight of 
land as much as possible, and, unless the 
sky was very clear, came to anchor at 
night. The mariner's compass, I hardly 
need say, had not, at that time, been dis- 
covered. 

Our travelers, like other travelers, must 
be supported. They must have food, drink, 
clothing ; and to procure these, it would 
seem as if they must have money. It would 
be curious to see Luke, Paul, Silas, and 
Timothy, at Troas, projecting an excursion 
to Macedonia and Greece. Had they any- 
thing of consequence beforehand? Was Luke 
their treasurer, as he probably was their 
scribe I Or did they live on the contribu- 



26 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

tions of their friends, as they passed from 
place to place ? 

Troas itself was not a large city, and yet, 
as appears afterward, they had friends there. 
Perhaps Luke had been employed there 
awhile before Paul's arrival, and had been 
the instrument of a few conversions. In any 
event, they must have had Christian friends 
enough at Troas to fit them out to the next 
place at which they proposed to stop ; and 
this, if they depended on the public charities, 
was all they could require. 

Did they need anything like a protection 
or a pass ? In our own times, when a tra- 
veler goes from the United States to Europe, 
he is obliged to procure a passport ; and this 
he is obliged to show in every city and state 
where he goes. But I doubt whether such 
a paperw as required in the days of Paul and 
Luke. 

But let us suppose them fitted out ready 
for their departure. They only wait for a 
fine morning and a fair wind. With both 
these they are now favored, and they set sail. 
The houses of Troas soon disappear, and, 
by a north-western course, about midday, 



i 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 27 

they are apparently in the midst of the wide 
ocean. 

The wind blows favorably, and their pro- 
gress is as rapid as could have been expected. 
Their course is north-west still. The sun 
has not yet set, and an island is in sight, 
at which they purpose to stop for the night. 
This is the island of Samothracia. It is 
about seventy miles from Troas, and nearly 
as many from the coast of Macedonia, whi- 
ther they were going ; but not more than 
half as many from Thrace, which lay directly 
northward. 

Having let go their anchor here, they 
stopped for the night ; but it was for the 
night only. They made no stay in Samo- 
thracia. It is an old maxim, " Make hay 
while the sun shines ;" and it might properly 
enough have been a maxim, in those days, 
with mariners, " Crowd all sail while it is 
fair weather," since they could not get along in 
bad weather as well as we can in modern times. 

But there was another reason for not stop- 
ping at Samothracia any longer than was 
absolutely indispensable. This was, that the 
inhabitants of the island were not very re- 



28 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN, 

spectable, and, though we ought to be willing 
to do good to the worst of people, if God 
give us opportunity, yet their stay there would 
have been too short to enable them to accom- 
plish much. The truth is, that Samothracia 
was a mere asylum for runaways and vaga- 
bonds. It is now called Samandraki, and is 
nearly uninhabited. 

The second day's journey brought them in 
safety to the European coast. The place 
where they landed was called Neapolis. It 
was a small sea-port of Macedonia, near 
the south-western corner of the kingdom of 
Thrace. It was about seventy miles from 
Samothracia. They might, indeed, have 
reached the coast of Thrace, had they gone 
directly northward, by sailing about half 
the distance. It was not Thrace, how- 
ever, to which they wished to go, but 
Macedonia. 

They did not stop long in Neapolis — pro- 
bably no more than one night. It was not 
a large place, nor much celebrated. Its dis- 
tance from Philippi, the nearest city, was 
about eight miles. At present it is a very 
small village, and is called Nepoli. Pro- 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 29 

ceeding on their journey, probably by land, 
and on foot, they soon came to Philippi. 

Here they halted, to make a considerable 
stay. They were all, so far as appears, in 
good health and spirits. If any of them had 
been sea-sick, they had doubtless recovered 
from it by a good night's rest at Neapolis. 
Sea-sickness is not, in general, very tedious ; 
and most persons recover from it as soon as 
they set their feet on shore. I shall speak 
of their adventures at Philippi, so far, at 
least, as Luke was concerned, in the next 
chapter. 



CHAPTER IV. 

ACCOUNT OF PHILIPPI. 

Luke and his company have now arrived 
at Philippi. What sort of a place is it, and 
by whom inhabited, and what are the pros- 
pects of a company of missionaries who shall 
set themselves down to labor here ? 

Philippi is in about forty-one degrees north 
latitude, and twenty-four east longitude from 
London. It is just about five thousand 



30 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

two hundred miles due east from New- York. 
It is about eight miles from the sea, near a 
little river called Maritz. 

This city is somewhat famous in ancient 
history. When first built it was called Da- 
tos ; but, having afterward been greatly beau- 
tified and improved by Philip, king of Mace- 
don, (father of Alexander the Great, or rather 
the guilty,) it was called Philippi, to perpe- 
tuate his name. 

During the Roman war between the 
emperor, xlugustus Cesar, and Mark An- 
tony, on the one side, and Cassius and 
Brutus, on the other, a great battle was 
fought near this place, in which Brutus and 
his party were defeated. Here also Brutus 
committed suicide. This was about ninety 
years before the arrival there of Luke and 
his fellow-missionaries. 

At that time, and probably for several cen- 
turies afterward, Philippi was quite a large 
and populous city. It is now a mere village, 
though the magnificence of its ruins shows 
what it once was. It has not a single good 
street in it, or hardly a good house. Its situ- 
ation is so low that the mud is sometimes 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 31 

from one to two feet deep in the streets, and 
" stones are set up, like posts, to facilitate 
the progress of foot passengers." 

Luke, in his account of this place in the 
" Acts of the Apostles," says it was " a city 
of the first part of Macedonia ;" or, as it has 
been translated into most of our Bibles, " the 
chief city of that part of Macedonia." Many 
learned men have been puzzled at this ex- 
pression, because it is well known by them, 
that about two hundred and twenty years 
before the period of Luke's arrival there, 
Amphipolis was the chief city of that region. 
But they forget what changes might have 
been made in a period as long as that which 
has elapsed since the first settlement of New- 
England. Besides, there are inscriptions on 
some of the ancient medals and coins of 
that place which confirm the account Luke 
gives of it, and show that it was a place as 
greatly distinguished as he represents it to 
have been. 

Among the remains of its ancient great- 
ness are several monuments and the broken 
fragments of an amphitheatre. These am- 
phitheatres were very common in the Roman 



32 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

cities of those times. They were large 
buildings, constructed either in a circular or 
an oval form, with seats one above another, 
and a large open space in the centre. The 
seats were for spectators, while the open 
space in the centre w T as for the amusements. 

From this brief account we may form some 
idea of the place to which our missionaries 
had come, as well as of the dangers and diffi- 
culties to which they had subjected them- 
selves : for what could they do to propagate 
the gospel of Christ in a large Roman, or, 
rather Macedonian, city, which, like other 
cities of that region and those times, was 
doubtless wholly given to idolatry ? 

If it were said that the Bible gives no 
account of idolatry at Philippi, I reply : 
Truly, it does not. But, then, we know 
that the people there must have been idola- 
tors. They certainly were not Christians. 
Luke and his company were probably the 
first Christians that were ever there, and 
Mohammedans were not then known. And 
though there were a few Jews there, yet in 
comparison with the whole population their 
number was small. What, then, must the 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 33 

great mass of the people have been, if they 
were not Christians, Mohammedans, or Jews, 
but idolators ? 

But we have other reasons for believing 
the Philippians were idolators. Philippi had 
been for two hundred years or more a Roman 
city, or at least in subjection to the Roman 
government. Before this time it was Mace- 
donian, or, in general terms, Grecian. But 
the Romans and Grecians were all idolators, 
or had been till Christ came and brought his 
gospel. 

Here, then, were Luke and his company, 
about a thousand miles from home, in the 
heart of an idolatrous country, and in one of 
its largest, and, as it is believed, most wicked 
cities. Here, too, they were, as I have in- 
timated in another place, in a land of stran- 
gers. I do not know that we have any rea- 
son to believe they had a single acquaintance 
in the whole city of Philippi. 

Where would they stop ? Had the Phi- 
lippians inns or boarding houses for travelers ? 
And if they had, were they respectable places ; 
such places as good men would like to resort 
to? Or would they be taken into private 
3 



34 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

families ? But if the latter, who would be 
likely to receive them ? 

One advantage they obviously had, which 
missionaries, in a strange land, do not always 
possess at their first arrival. Most of our 
missionaries, of modem times, have to learn 
the language of the people among whom they 
go, after they arrive at their stations. This 
takes a considerable time ; sometimes, I be- 
lieve, a year or two. True, they need not 
be, indeed they usually are not, wholly use- 
less, even as missionaries, while they are 
studying the language of the people ; for they 
can be forming acquaintances, especially if 
they have an interpreter. . Still their useful- 
ness, for the time, is greatly limited, or 
abridged. 

Whatever, therefore, could or could not be 
done at Philippi, no difficulty of this sort lay 
in their way. Indeed, there were some 
things in their favor. There were a few 
Jews in Philippi, who would at least give 
them an invitation on the sabbath, at the close 
of their services, to speak to those present, 
and bring to them, though the number might 
be small, their gospel message. 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 35 

I do not mean to say that their Jewish 
friends were likely to be of any advantage 
to them in the end. For it was the Jews, 
in the cities in which Paul traveled, that 
usually gave him the most trouble. Willing 
as they sometimes were to receive him at 
first, their prejudices soon rose, and often, at 
length, became violent. It was the Jews 
who would have destroyed him at Damascus, 
Lystra, and Iconium, and, subsequently, at 
Ephesus and Jerusalem. All I say is, that, 
by attending their worship at their syna- 
gogues, and complying with their customary 
invitations to speak, they could introduce 
themselves, and begin a work which, wdien 
once begun, neither Jews nor Romans could 
stop. 

We shall see in the sequel that the Jews 
at Philippi held their worship every sabbath 
day, whether they had a synagogue or not. 
They had at least a proseuche, or oratory, 
as the word translated place of pray er evi- 
dently means. I refer, of course, to the 
account of public religious services, held by 
the river-side, out of the city, which will be 
noticed in another chapter. 



36 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

These proseuchae, or places of prayer, 
were, for the most part, mere appendages to 
the synagogues of the Jews, and stood at a 
little distance from them, like the conference 
or lecture rooms appended, in our times, to 
our churches. Sometimes, however, they 
were a great way off, in fields, groves, or 
retired places. Sometimes, also, the oratory 
was built (where the worshipers were few in 
number, or poor) before they built the syna- 
gogue, and used, not only for prayer, but for 
all the ordinary purposes of synagogues, till 
one of the latter could be erected. In gene- 
ral they were inclosures, or yards, with no 
roof except the trees that shaded them. 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 37 

CHAPTER V. 

MISSIONARY LABORS AT PHILIPPI. 

Luke and his company had not been long 
at Philippi before they began their labors ; 
not by public, open preaching, or proclaim- 
ing the gospel in the city, but beyond the 
city, in the proseuche, or oratory, I have 
already mentioned : for there were a few 
Jews at Philippi who statedly met there for 
prayer. 

Their manner of introducing themselves 
was as follows : On the first sabbath after 
their arrival they went early to the place of 
prayer.* It was by a river-side, out of the 
city, and was frequented by many females 
as well as by individuals of the other sex. 
To these last they addressed themselves, in 
the first place, perhaps before the regular 
exercises of the place had begun. 

Of the subject matter of their address we 
have no particular account in the "Acts," 
and, consequently, I have none to give here. 
Nor do we know with certainty who the 

* See Frontispiece. 



38 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

principal, it may be the only, speakers were. 
Luke says, "We sat down and spake unto 
the women," &c. But they could not all 
speak at once. Paul may have spoken at 
one time, Luke at another, &c. Or if only 
one of them addressed the meeting at this 
time, the statement of the evangelist would 
still be correct. A work to which all con- 
sented, and for which all were, of course, 
responsible, and willing to be so, might pro- 
perly enough be said to be done by all pre- 
sent and concerned. 

I am the more particular on this point 
because it is sometimes thought that Luke 
was a mere assistant or attendant of Paul 
and the company, and not an equal or part- 
ner ; and because some have had doubts 
whether he was a public preacher at all. 
But though the passage I have quoted does 
not, of itself, quite prove the reverse, it for 
ever shuts the mouths of those who say he 
never preached. No one can prove such a 
position with this passage before him. 

Besides, we have evidence which goes very 
far toward proving the contrary. For we find 
the evangelist, in the very next verse to that 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 39 

from which I have already quoted, speaking 
of Paul's preaching in particular. Why 
should he speak of what Paul did, in particu- 
lar instances, if Paul were the only speak- 
er ? But if there were other speakers, why 
should not Luke be one as well as Silas or 
Timothy? 

This way of speaking, on the part of a 
modest man, often repeated, has, with me, 
a good deal of weight. But it has a weight 
still greater when joined to considerations 
which will appear in the further progress of 
our narrative. 

Among the individuals who were address- 
ed at this first meeting which the mission- 
aries attended at Philippi was a woman of 
some note, whose name was Lydia. She 
was not a native of Philippi, but of Thyatira, 
a city of Asia Minor, or of the Lesser Asia, 
as it was sometimes called. 

She was employed at Philippi in merchan- 
dising. Luke tells us she was " a seller of 
purple." Purple, among the people of those 
times, was a most valuable color, obtained 
usually from shell-fish. It was chiefly worn 
by princes, or by the rich. The trade in 



40 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

this article is said to have been, at this time, 
very profitable. 

This Lydia is stated to have been a wor- 
shiper of God. By this, as I suppose, is 
meant, that she worshiped him according to 
the Jewish religion. It is probable, how- 
ever, that it is external worship which is 
here referred to, and not internal or heart 
worship. Her moral character, externally, 
was such as it should have been. She may 
have been all this while a worldly woman, 
for anything which appears in Luke's account 
of her ; but being a proselyte to the Jewish 
religion, she must needs keep up a form of 
godliness, whether she knew the power of it 
or not. 

This woman, while she heard, had the 
eyes of her understanding opened : or rather, 
to use the Bible language itself, which is 
better, " the Lord opened her heart," so that 
she attended to what was said. And while 
hearing, from Paul, the words of eternal life, 
she became a believer. 

The writer of the Acts has not said that 
no other individual, male or female, but Ly- 
dia, had the heart, or understanding, opened 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 41 

at this time ; but, even if she was the only- 
one, a great work was accomplished. A 
sinner was converted to God, and joy was 
sent through all heaven, and the standard of 
the cross of Christ was already planted on 
the shores of Europe. 

Those results followed which usually fol- 
low in such cases now, where proper instruc- 
tion has been given : Lydia sought to be 
baptized, and the rite was duly administered. 
Whether the agent concerned in performing 
the ceremony was Paul or Luke, the latter 
has not told us. Paul, it would seem, did 
not baptize much with his own hands. 
Probably Silas, or Timothy, was the agent 
on the present occasion. 

Not only was she baptized herself, but her 
household also. How large this household 
may have been is unknown ; but it seems 
to have been a household, and to have been 
baptized on Lydia's faith. On this point, 
however, we cannot be quite certain. We 
only know that the Bible is silent on every- 
thing which relates to this point, but the 
belief of Lydia and the baptism of the whole 
family. 



42 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

One thing deserves a passing remark, 
which is, that her baptism followed very 
closely upon the event of her conversion. 
We have no reason to believe she waited 
several weeks, or months, before she sub- 
mitted to the ordinance. On the contrary, 
the Scripture language fully justifies the 
belief that the ordinance was administered, 
both to herself and her family, immediately. 

With the love of God, when it first springs 
up in the human soul, the love of man is also 
connected. Whoso loveth God will love his 
brother also, has become all but a truism. 
No wonder, then, that after Lydia became a 
convert to the new faith, she manifested a 
strong sympathy with the missionaries of 
that faith. No wonder she invited, and even 
urged, them to make her house their home. 
Some will say, perhaps, " But she was 
wealthy, and well she might invite these dis- 
tinguished strangers to her house. What is 
it for a wealthy person to entertain three or 
four plain men a few days, especially men 
of intelligence, from whom may be gathered 
much valuable information ?" 

In regard to her wealth, however, it hap- 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 43 

pens that we have nothing very definite 
in the Bible. She may or may not have 
been wealthy, in the more common ac- 
ceptation of the term. Because she dealt 
in a costly article, it does not follow that 
her sales were extensive, or that her profits 
were great. Gold is valuable, and diamonds 
still more so ; but those who dig and coin 
the former, and polish the latter, are often 
miserably poor. 

One species of riches she had, to be sure: 
she was rich in faith. One kind of treasure 
she had begun to lay up : treasure in heaven. 
And instead of impoverishing her, in these 
respects, to entertain Luke and his company, 
it would, doubtless, greatly add to her pos- 
sessions. 

Most of us — all of us, in truth, w T ho are of 
sufficient age, as I would fain hope — have 
read the adventures of Elijah the prophet, 
at Zarephath. Those who have, will not 
readily forget how the poor widow, at whose 
house he sought refreshment, hesitated about 
giving him so much as a morsel of bread to 
save him from starvation, lest it should im- 
poverish her, And yet, in the end, she took 



44 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

him into her house, and kept him a long time, 
not only without being impoverished, but 
without the slightest diminution of her sub- 
stance. Elijah abode with her many months, 
yet " the barrel of meal wasted not, nor did 
the cruse of oil fail," while he stayed there. 

In ordinary cases, I know, we are not to 
expect miracles, as in the case of Elijah ; 
and yet, as Solomon says, " There is that 
scattereth," by deeds of charity, his sub- 
stance, " and yet increaseth." I verily be- 
lieve it would, or, at least, might greatly add 
to the moral and intellectual wealth of most 
families among us to receive and entertain, 
in a simple manner, for a few weeks, if 
not for a few months, four such men as 
Luke, Paul, Silas, and Timothy, and that it 
would not diminish aught of their temporal 
riches. 

There was a condition, however, annexed 
to the invitation of the good Lydia. " If ye 
have judged me faithful to the Lord, come 
into my house," said she, " and abide there." 
She did not expect them to make her house 
their home, unless they had full confidence 
in her as a believer and true Christian. 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 45 

This was a high compliment to the character 
of Luke and his party, as well as a strong 
evidence of the sincerity of her own pro- 
fession. 

It is, doubtless, true, that they had already 
sat in judgment — so far as it becomes mor- 
tals to do so on the character of a fellow- 
mortal — in the case of Lydia, and after a full 
examination of the case, and not before, had 
admitted her to the Christian rite of baptism. 
They could not hesitate, therefore, to comply 
with her request. The condition was so easy 
that they needed no urging. They not only 
accepted her generous invitation, but remained 
with her as long as Paul, Silas, and Timothy 
stayed in the city ; and Luke, perhaps, much 
longer. 

They were now at full liberty and leisure 
to prosecute their labors, in such various 
ways as they deemed expedient. Holy Writ 
is silent, for the most part, as to the particu- 
lars, and only gives us an outline of some of 
the leading events of their sojourn there. 
But this, scanty as it is, we can never be 
sufficiently thankful for. Even this outline 
is deeply interesting. 



46 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

The first important incident which occur- 
red to Luke and his company — in order to 
be intelligible — requires a few preliminary- 
statements. 

There was, in the city of Philippi, a female 
who had the power of soothsaying, or sorcery. 
She was called a pythoness. Her chief em- 
ployment, as such, was to be a sort of standing 
oracle to the people, and to utter ambiguous 
predictions, like the other oracles of those 
times. By ambiguous predictions, I mean 
predictions so expressed, that, let the result 
be what it might, they would seem to be ful- 
filled. 

This damsel appears to have been owned 
by several masters, and to have been very 
profitable to them. We cannot wonder at 
this, I am sure, when we consider how 
ready mankind are, in every age, our own 
not excepted, to run after persons of this 
description. One wishes to know his or her 
future destiny ; another wishes to know 
something of a distant friend, unwilling to 
wait God's time for it ; another wants to 
recover stolen money or goods. 

No sooner did the missionaries go abroad 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 47 

in the streets of Philippi, than this pytho- 
ness began to follow them. They could not 
so much as go to the oratory, or place of 
prayer, without being annoyed by her. It 
was common enough with the great men of 
the East, when they went abroad, to have 
their heralds with them to proclaim their 
approach ; but these heralds usually went 
before them — whereas this pythoness fol- 
lowed. 

She not only followed them, but, in a 
most remarkable manner, proclaimed their 
approach, and their errand. " These men," 
said she, " are servants of the most high 
God, which show unto us the way of sal- 
vation." And this outcry she persisted in. 

This was more than the simplicity of Paul 
or the modesty of Luke could well endure. 
They bore it, indeed, for a time, for they did 
not know what else to do. The truth is, the 
young woman was possessed with an evil 
spirit ; and this spirit, like other evil spirits 
of those times, knew that the whole tendency 
of Christianity was against it, and was there- 
fore greatly disturbed and agitated. Perhaps 
it expected to be dislodged, and wished to 



48 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

make friends of the missionary party, and, 
if possible, prevent that. 

But whether this last was the motive, or 
whether the evil spirit, aware of the final 
success of the gospel there, expected to 
acquire, for the pythoness, an increase of 
reputation, by foretelling, publicly, the event, 
certain it is that it spread the news pretty 
thoroughly through the city. The mission- 
aries could no longer be hid, if they had 
desired it. 

They did not indeed desire it. They had 
nothing to conceal — nay, they had much to 
say; and they came into Macedonia to pro- 
claim it. But then they wished to proclaim 
it in their own way : or rather in such 
a way as God in his providence seemed to 
point out for them. They did not need or 
desire the interference or aid of Satan or 
his emissraies. 

Having borne with her as long as they 
could, till they were grieved in spirit on 
account of her, they proceeded to the work 
of dispossessing, or exorcising her. Address- 
ing himself to the infernal agent, Paul said, 
" In the name of Jesus Christ, I command 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 49 

thee to come out of her." The command 
was obeyed, and the subject of disease be- 
came at once like other people. 

When it is said, in the Bible narrative, that 
Paul and his company were grieved (or ag- 
grieved) by her, it is not meant that they 
were angry. But then they were in danger 
of being suspected, by the thoughtless mul- 
titude which her cries might, from time to 
time, bring together, of a willingness to be 
thus noticed and heralded ; whereas nothing 
was more disgusting to them, or more op- 
posed to the spirit of Christianity, and to 
their success in propagating it, than the 
various delusions of the pagan world, of 
which this formed a part. 

It is quite possible that had Paul or Luke, 
either of them, possessed a larger share than 
they did of what the world calls prudence, 
they might have borne with such an annoy- 
ance, great as it was, a little longer : for 
the step they took in dispossessing her was 
a bolder step than most persons, who regard 
man more than they fear God, would venture 
upon . 

I have already said that the young woman 
4 



50 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

was very profitable to her masters. What, 
then, was to be expected but that the casting 
out of the spirit of divination which had pos- 
sessed her would arouse their hostility? 
Like the rest of the busy world, their great 
object was gain. But this hope of gain, by 
means of the damsel, was gone. 

And now for the consequences. In our 
own times and country, in similar circum- 
stances, the men who should thus offend a 
company of wicked speculators would be 
mobbed. Some half a century or century 
ago, especially in our backwoods settle- 
ments, they would, however, have been tar- 
red and feathered. But a shorter course than 
this, a course not unlike what is now called 
lynching, was the course adopted by the 
Philippian masters. 

Full of the spirit of madness and revenge, 
they resolved to proceed in a summary way. 
They seized Paul and Silas, and dragged 
them to the market-place, and afterward to 
the magistrates, accusing them of disturbing 
the public peace, and teaching such doctrines 
as were subversive of the public good, and 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 51 

which could not but be rejected and repudi- 
ated by every Roman citizen. 

The question has often been raised why 
Paul and Silas should have been seized, 
while nothing was done, or, so far as we 
know, attempted to be done, with Luke and 
Timothy. But I do not think it difficult to 
understand this matter. There are several 
reasons why wicked men would be likely 
to give vent to their wrath in the particular 
manner described. 

However active Luke, the elder, and 
Timothy, the younger of the party, might 
have, been, they were no doubt far less so 
than Paul and Silas. Paul in general, wher- 
ever he went, was considered as the repre- 
sentative of his party. At Lystra, for exam- 
ple, while Barnabas, the elder of the mission- 
ary party, was called Jupiter, Paul was 
called Mercury, because, as it is said, he 
was the chief speaker. This fact that he 
w r as speaker for his company, everywhere, 
made him particularly obnoxious to the 
public displeasure. 

But this was not all, at Philippi, Paul was 



52 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

the individual who dispossessed the young 
pythoness. It was not Luke, or Silas, or 
Timothy who did the deed which unstopped 
the vials of their wrath. It was the chief 
speaker, the ringleader, as they would doubt- 
less call him. 

No wonder, therefore, that they should 
seize him first. Next to him, however, 
Silas would be most likely to be an offender 
in their eyes ; because, next to Paul, he would 
be likely to appear to them as the most active 
and efficient. It is also probable that, from 
his age and other circumstances, he was 
more intimately associated with Paul than 
Luke was ; and possibly more so than 
Timothy. 

As for Luke, his venerable appearance 
and age w T ould more readily exempt him 
from their fury ; while the youth and passive 
character of Timothy would not so much 
expose him as the more advanced age of 
Silas. Besides, it is not at all unusual for a 
mob to rest satisfied with securing one, or, 
at most, two of the leaders of an offending 
company. Or these, at least, serve to ap- 
pease their wrath till they have disposed of 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 53 

them ; after which, if they choose, they can 
lay their hands on the rest. 

We have nothing of any show of resist- 
ance, whether in w T ord or deed, on the part 
of Luke, Paul, or any of the company. Had 
Peter been there, a sword might have been 
drawn, and, perhaps, an ear cut off. But 
Paul, though naturally ardent, was not a man 
of impulse, like Peter. Even while a per- 
secutor of the Christians, he was not impetu- 
ous, or, at least, impulsive. He was firm 
and persevering even " unto the death." 
And, amid all the fiery persecution through 
which he had been carried, there is no evi- 
dence that he had ever lifted a hand in self- 
defense, or even thought of it. 

Let us attempt to think of Silas, for a 
moment, as being ready to draw the sword, 
at the head of fifty men, against some two 
or five hundred. Many an individual, in 
a worse cause, has ventured to resist with 
more fearful odds against him : Leonidas, 
for example, who fought the Persians only 
about two hundred miles from the city 
of Philippi. But Silas was a Christian, a 
disciple of Him who said, " Put up thy 



54 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

sword :" " they that take the sword shall 
perish by the sword." 

All these missionaries were men ; and the 
attack on them was unjustifiable and cruel ; 
but had to be endured. Yet herein was their 
trial ; and by their conduct under this trial 
was tested their faithfulness to the cause of 
Him who, when ill treated, not only did not 
resist, but did not so much as threaten, or 
even "look" resistance. 

We have seen that Paul and Silas were 
dragged away for trial, while Luke and 
Timothy were left. But there was no 
regular trial in the case. The appearance 
of weight in the arguments of their accusers 
seemed to satisfy the magistrates, whether or 
not they were satisfactory to those who used 
them. 

It is curious to observe the workings of 
human nature at these loop-holes, as Cowper, 
the poet, would call them. How very soli- 
citous these selfish, money-loving men, all 
of a sudden, appear to be about their religion 
and laws ! " These men, being Jews," say 
they, " do exceedingly trouble our city, and 
teach customs which are not^ lawful for 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 55 

us to receive, neither to observe, being 
Romans." 

They meant to charge the missionaries 
with endeavoring to impose on the good and 
happy people of Philippi a new religion ; one 
which required new modes of worship and 
new customs. Yet what did they care about 
religion, or custom, or law? As long as 
they could make money fast enough, they 
could be religious, perhaps, externally ; but 
as soon as their hopes of gain were gone, 
their religion disappeared. They could, in- 
deed, still talk about religion and law, to 
cover their wicked designs against a set of 
men whose shoe-buckles they were not wor- 
thy to unloose, 

I have said that the magistrates seemed 
satisfied with the show of evidence against 
Paul and Silas, and that no regular trial came 
on. The whole multitude, sympathizing with 
the complainants, began to be enraged, and I 
doubt not clamorous. The magistrates seem 
to have acted as if the prisoners were guilty, 
without taking the trouble or the time to prove 
them so, and to have governed themselves 
accordingly. 



56 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 



CHAPTER VI. 

LUKE AND TIMOTHY. 

Criminals, when actually found guilty, 
in Philippi and the adjacent cities and coun- 
tries subject to the Roman government, had 
their clothes rent and torn from them by the 
magistrates, after which their naked bodies 
were scourged with rods by a set of officers 
called lictors. Cicero, in describing a pun- 
ishment of this sort, inflicted by a magistrate, 
says, " He commanded the man to be seized, 
and to be stripped naked in the midst of the 
forum, and to be bound, and rods to be 
brought." 

Such was the treatment to which Paul 
and Silas, innocent though they were, and 
untried, were subjected. Their backs and 
shoulders were beaten with rods, probably 
to the full extent which the law of the 
country would permit. What this measure 
or limit was is not known. The Jews were 
not permitted to inflict, at one time, more 
than thirty-nine blows. Hence Paul says, in 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 57 

a certain instance, when reviewing his suffer- 
ings, " Of the Jews five times received I 
forty stripes save one," 

But those who inflicted the punishment at 
Philippi were not Jews. They punished in 
accordance with Roman laws and usages, so 
far as they went by law at all. In this case 
it would seem likely that a very large num- 
ber of blows was inflicted. The narrative 
says " many ;" and Paul, in his letter to the 
Corinthians, speaks of receiving stripes, in 
some instances, " beyond," or " above mea- 
sure." There can be little doubt that this 
instance was one of them. 

They were now cast into prison, particular 
orders having first been given to the jailor, as 
if they had been notorious criminals, to keep 
them safely. The jailor, in accordance with 
the spirit of his charge, put them into close 
confinement ; and, as if not satisfied with 
putting them in close confinement, " made 
their feet fast in the stocks." 

Here let us leave them for a time, to re- 
turn to Luke and Timothy. Where w r ere 
they all this while? Like the disciples at 
Jerusalem, when their Master was seized, 



58 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

had they fled ? Or, if they fled at first, had 
they, like John and Peter, returned to witness 
the final issue ? Was one of them, Timothy, 
for instance, found side by side with the 
prisoners, like John at the mock trial of his 
Master, and Luke, like Peter, skulking about 
the door, anxious yet fearful, and, though 
unwilling to go away, so tremulous as to 
deny what was fact, even with an oath, 
when there was the slightest appearance of 
his being regarded as an accomplice ? 

Or were they, on the other hand, foolhardy 
in their conduct, throwing themselves, either 
from sympathy or momentary impulses con- 
cerning duty, into the midst of a crowd of 
madmen ? Or in defiance of the power of 
mobs and courts, did they give vent to their 
feelings in such a way as to invite perse- 
cution ? 

He must have studied Luke's character, 
and, indeed, that of Timothy, very imper- 
fectly, who is willing to admit, for one mo- 
ment, the possibility of either of these ex- 
tremities. As for Luke, he was not only a 
modest man, but a man of good sense and 
great self-command ; and no person of good 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 59 

sense would have been, in such a case, either 
foolhardy or unreasonably timid. 

Were the purposes of the mission wholly 
defeated because two of the missionaries 
were shut up closely in a dungeon ? Even 
if they could do nothing in their confinement, 
were not the hands and tongues of Luke and 
Timothy still free ? And would they cease 
from fear, or any other cause, to use that 
freedom ? 

I do not lose sight of the possibility of the 
fact, that they, too, were deprived of their 
liberty, as well as Paul and Silas. But I do 
not believe they were ; neither do I believe 
that any candid and careful Bible student 
will come to such a conclusion. They, 
doubtless, continued their labors, or laid their 
plans to do so, much as they would have 
done had nothing at all happened. 

One thing, at least, they could do. The 
house of Lydia, their temporary home, re- 
mained open to them, and they were free 
in it. If it was becoming unsafe to go to 
a more public place of prayer, they could, 
at least, worship at home. Possibly, too, a 
few friends — inquiring friends, I mean — may 



60 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

have been admitted. At any rate, they could 
pray themselves, and sing praises. Paul and 
Silas could do this — and did do it — in their 
dark and dismal dungeon, smarting under 
their wounds ; and surely Luke and Timothy 
could do it, in their pleasant retreat, at Lydia's 
hospitable mansion. 

Many a prayer, as I have not a doubt, 
ascended to heaven in behalf of the suffering 
Paul and Silas ; such prayer, too, one would 
think, as must be availing. If " the effectual, 
fervent prayer of the righteous availeth much," 
must not the prayers of the beloved Luke and 
gentle Timothy have been efficacious ? 

And who shall say they were not so? 
Who shall say that the liberation of Paul 
and Silas, that very night, was not owing, 
under God, to those prayers ? Who shall 
say, who can say, that without these prayers 
they could have been saved? Who shall 
say, that, without the aged and reverend 
Luke, to stand as it were between the porch 
and the altar, and say, " Lord, save," Paul 
and Silas would not have perished in their 
confinement ? 

Certain it is, I again say, that Paul and 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 



61 



Silas prayed, tortured as they were ; and that 
at midnight their prayers and praises were 
still ascending. Certain it is, for the Scrip- 
tures expressly affirm it, that in the midst of 
all this there was an earthquake, which, by 
its violence, shook down the w T alls of the 
prison in which Paul and Silas w r ere confined, 
and left them free to go forth. Still further, 
it is true, that at the same moment in which 
all the prison walls were leveled, every one's 
chains were loosened. 




The effect on the jailor w r as such, that, 
in the trepidation of the moment, and in the 
fear that his prisoners had escaped, and that 



62 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

he should suffer for his supposed neglect, he 
drew his sword, and was about to lay violent 
hands on himself. Indeed he most certainly 
would have done so, but for the timely and 
kindly influence of Paul, who, having learned 
the state of his mind, assured him that his 
prisoners were all safe. 

Luke and Timothy— sleepless as they 
doubtless were — must have heard this earth- 
quake : for though miraculous in its ap- 
pearance at that particular moment, it was 
still an earthquake. Macedonia was subject 
to earthquakes, occasionally, though, I be- 
lieve, that, for the most part, they were not 
very violent. 

The alarm of the jailor, and the surprise 
elicited by Paul's answer, united, perhaps, 
to what he knew, or had heard elsewhere, 
since the arrival of the missionaries at Phi- 
lippi, so wrought upon him, as to convict 
him, most deeply, of his sinfulness ; and lead 
him immediately to repentance and faith. 
That very night, amid the darkness and soli- 
tude of the outer courts of the prison, he and 
his house believed and were baptized. 

It does not appear that Luke and Timothy 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 63 

heard the glad news of the liberation of Paul 
and Silas till their actual return to the house 
of Lydia. Nor do we know that the news 
was heard anywhere in the city before this 
time. The magistrates, regretting their hasty 
and irregular decision the day before, or led 
to reflection by the earthquake, sent orders to 
the jailor, as soon as it was day, to release 
them. Paul at first hesitated. " They have 
beaten us, openly and uncondemned," said 
he, "being Romans, and have cast us into 
the prison ; and now do they thrust us out 
privily ? Nay, verily, let them come them- 
selves and fetch us out." But when they did 
this, he no longer hesitated. 

Being thus set free, they hasted to the house 
of Lydia, to meet Luke and Timothy, and 
make preparation to depart. For though they 
might easily have remained longer, yet it was 
not deemed prudent, on the whole, for them 
to do so. It was thought advisable, in order 
to accomplish the greatest good, that, while 
Luke remained there for a time, Paul and 
Silas, and perhaps Timothy also, should pro- 
ceed westward, and plant churches further 
along the coast. 



64 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

What arrangements were made by the 
company, with respect to religious matters 
in Philippi, is not known. Not a word is 
said, thus far, with regard to superiority in 
office ; and for this simple reason, as I be- 
lieve, because there was no superior among 
them. Paul, to be sure, was superior in 
intellectual powers, and as an orator ; and 
Luke w r as superior in age, and, perhaps, in 
mere science ; but this, for aught that 
appears, is all the superiority which was 
conceded or claimed. They all spoke at 
the river side ; they all judged, or examined 
in the case of Lydia ; they all sympathized 
in the honor or shame, when the cause of 
Christ was honored or disgraced. They 
were brethren in the church of Christ, emi- 
nent, indeed, for their attainments ; but they 
wore no caps or mitres. 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 65 

CHAPTER VII. 

FIVE YEARS AT PHILIPPI. 

In the close of the preceding chapter I 
barely alluded to the haste of the Philippian 
magistrates to liberate Paul and Silas, and 
get them out of the city ; but the fact is so 
remarkable that it must not be dismissed 
without further consideration. 

Why, then, this haste and urgency on the 
part of the magistrates ? Simply because 
they knew that Paul's statement was correct; 
and that they had transcended their own 
limits as public officers, and exposed them- 
selves to prosecution and loss of property, if 
not of reputation and influence. In short, 
they were afraid of these good men ; for 
they knew that they had put themselves in 
jeopardy by imprisoning them without cause. 

Some persons, in similar circumstances 
with Luke and Paul, and their company, 
would have thought it their duty, for the 
sake of the Christian cause, to humble the 
magistrates a little. To go immediately 
5 



66 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

away, as if they were compelled to go, would 
it not be an injury to Christianity ? Would 
it not be construed into a want of confidence 
in its truth, or a want of courage to de- 
fend it? 

Or, if no advantages of the kind were taken 
by Paul before he left, would not Luke take 
up the matter, and commence a prosecution, 
on his behalf, for false imprisonment ? Are 
there not thousands, who call themselves 
Christians, and who think they bear the 
image of Christ, who would indulge their 
own vindictive spirit in this way, in the 
same circumstances, and yet think, all the 
while, they were doing God service, in de- 
fending his cause ? Are there not thousands, 
who, in thus triumphing over a fallen foe, 
would think themselves honoring Christ ? 

Be this as it may, we may be well assured 
that neither Luke nor Timothy, if the latter 
remained, possessed any such spirit. I am 
as well persuaded that Luke was as free 
from everything vindictive as that Paul 
was. I believe that he possessed, in very 
large measure, the spirit of Christ Jesus 
our Lord. 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN, 67 

Why Luke was left alone at Philippi, as 
I think, on the whole, he must have been, it 
is not easy to conjecture. True, there was, in 
all human probability, a great harvest of souls 
to be gathered in there ; but would not Timo- 
thy, from his youth, have been the more effi- 
cient instrument for this purpose ; and was 
not the sage counsel of Luke needed in 
Thessalonica, and other cities to which they 
were going ? 

Perhaps it was intended that he should 
remain, for a time only, and then follow the 
rest of the company. Perhaps it was as 
little expected that he would stay there five 
years as that he would stay there a century. 
It is not easy to foresee, in such circum- 
stances, what the will of Providence may be. 

I have spoken of a harvest of souls to be 
gathered in at Philippi. On what grounds is 
such an opinion expressed? Some reader 
may say, Does the Bible reveal anything 
which should lead to such a conclusion ? 

I think it does. I think such an inference 
very fairly deducible from the facts in the 
case. If we have no positive evidence on 
the subject, we have an abundance of that 



68 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

circumstantial evidence, which to most minds 
carries with it quite as much weight as the 
more direct, and positive. 

In the first place, the conversion of Lydia 
must have excited a good deal of attention. 
It would be next to impossible for four men 
to come from Spain or Greece to Boston 
or New-York, and bring with them the 
Mohammedan, or some new religion, and 
make a convert of one of the principal mer- 
chants there, male or female, without pro- 
ducing a great sensation all over the city. I 
have not a doubt Lydia's conversion attracted 
as much attention at Philippi, as would the 
conversion of the most active merchant in 
New-York to Mohammedanism, or to some 
new 7 religion, professedly just delivered to 
the world. 

Nor do I doubt that her conversion alone, 
had not the gospel been proclaimed there 
afterward, would have been the means of 
the conversion of many others. Nay, more ; 
I do not doubt that her conversion did lead 
to other conversions, perhaps in considerable 
numbers. People are influenced in religious 
things, as well as in other matters, by those 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 69 

around them, and it is right that they 
should be. 

But in the second place, the exorcism, by 
Paul, must have produced a still more power- 
ful sensation in the city, than the conversion of 
Lydia. It affected their purse-strings more. 
For though the number of those who were 
directly concerned in the loss Paul had oc- 
casioned w T as small, yet they, doubtless, had 
friends, in considerable numbers, who sym- 
pathized with them, even if they sustained no 
pecuniary loss. And, as a consequence, the 
story of the exorcism would be likely to be 
repeated a thousand times, not only in Phi- 
lippi, but out of it. 

For Philippi, though a somewhat inland 
place, could not fail to have considerable 
intercourse with the other Macedonian cities, 
and even with other countries. The chief 
city of that part of Macedonia, if not literally 
" on a hill," could not possibly be hid. And 
what was so remarkable as the conversion of 
Lydia, and the casting out of a devil, would 
not fail to spread far and near, and to attract 
much attention, and raise many inquiries 
concerning the character of the new religion. 



70 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

Then, in addition to this, and, in the third 
place, the seizure of the two missionaries — 
their mock trials, and cruel sentence, and 
the violent and hurried execution of that 
sentence — must, in a few days, have become 
matter of public notoriety to the utmost bor- 
ders of Philippi, if not of Macedonia. Some 
would sympathize with the persecuted, as 
always happens in such cases ; and hence, 
perhaps, the maxim, " The blood of martyrs 
is the seed of the church." Some would 
oppose. 

Fourthly. The earthquake, and the subse- 
quent conversion of the jailor and his house- 
hold, would greatly add to the notoriety of 
Luke and the religion he would gladly pro- 
pagate ; and, if it convinced no one at the 
time, could not fail to pave the way for the 
conviction and conversion of many. Indeed, 
who could have desired a more general ad- 
vertisement than these various events afford- 
ed ? All the newspapers in the world, clus- 
tered in a single city, and filled with pompous 
and flaming notices, could not have done more. 
It is indeed true that Paul and Silas had to 
pay for it at a very dear rate ; but, as almost 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 71 

every natural evil, or evil of any kind, is 
counterbalanced by some good, so God or- 
dained that much good should come out of 
the scenes which had been acted over at 
Philippi. 

And lastly. The liberation of Paul and 
Silas, in a hasty manner, and the probable 
spread of the intelligence abroad that the in- 
jured party, after all, were Romans, and that 
the magistrates were now ashamed of their 
conduct, completed the triumph of the Chris- 
tian party. I do not believe that a mob could 
have been raised against them, for weeks or 
months afterward, had they all remained 
there, and preached the cross of Christ ever 
so boldly. 

In any event there is no reason to believe 
that Luke met with anything like opposition 
in his efforts to follow up the work which 
was so successfully begun. I do not believe 
it was possible for him to hold a meeting 
for religious purposes which would not be 
thronged with the citizens, either from cu- 
riosity or some better motive. 

Whether public meetings were held either 
at the oratory, or at the house of Lydia, or 



72 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

the jailor, more frequently than once a week, 
is a matter which, of course, cannot now be 
determined. The weekly prayer meeting, 
which was begun so successfully at the river- 
side, would hardly be given up, and I doubt 
not it was attended with excellent effects. 

Some of us may not be able to think of 
Luke as a public preacher, perhaps because 
the Bible does not expressly say he was so. 
But we must remember once more, that 
nearly all we know of his history is from 
his own mouth, and that he was so exceed- 
ingly modest as to be hardly willing to do 
himself justice. 

How can it be otherwise than that he 
preached more or less, not only at Philippi, 
but long before he went there ? For what 
purpose was he at Troas ? Why was he 
left at Philippi ? What was he doing while 
Paul was waiting for his trial, two years or 
more, at Rome ? But this is to anticipate 
events. We must return to the narrative, 
and to the character of Luke as already 
developed. 

I know, indeed, that there are many ways 
of proclaiming the gospel, some direct, others 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 73 

indirect, besides that of public preaching, pro- 
perly so called. I know well that Luke was 
a physician, a letter writer, a historian, and a 
man of talents, and indeed equal to any public 
employment which he believed to be useful. 
Yet I know, also, that he says, " We sat down 
and spake," at the river-side, in distinction 
from the seasons at which Paul spoke and 
acted by himself; and I believe, most fully, 
that, though less eloquent than Paul, he was, 
no less than he, a public preacher. 

But, in addition to being a public preacher, 
he was, doubtless, able, like Paul, to heal the 
sick and cast out devils. The pow r er to work 
miracles was certainly conferred on the apos- 
tles and their associates, and on the first 
Christians ; and Luke was one of them. 
True it is that miracles were not wrought 
except when absolutely necessary to attest 
the authority of the messengers, or the truth 
of the message, or to accomplish some bene- 
volent purpose. So that it is impossible to 
say whether, during his stay in Philippi, 
Luke ever availed himself of this power, or 
whether he confined himself to other and 
more ordinary labors. 



74 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

It is highly probable that one of the first 
efforts made by Luke, after Paul and Silas 
left him, was to form a Philippian church. 
For this purpose he already had several 
important elements. Two whole households 
were firmly attached to the new faith — Ly- 
dia's and the jailor's. How large these 
households were is not very obvious ; but 
they may have contained some ten or twelve, 
perhaps twenty, members. Nor is it likely 
these were all. The damsel who had been 
dispossessed, and some of the women of 
prayer who had met with Lydia at the river- 
side, and finally with Luke, Paul, Silas, and 
Timothy, would, at least, be likely to believe 
and join the newly-established church. 

But although Luke, as it is believed, was 
a preacher, and a worker of miracles, it is 
quite possible he was better adapted to the 
work of assisting in these important labors, 
than of acting, very extensively, as a princi- 
pal preacher. He may have been more a 
pastor than a preacher. For the discharge 
of the pastoral duties, in a small church and 
congregation, doubtless no man of his time 
was better fitted than he. 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 75 

In the fulfillment of the duties devolving on 
him as a pastor at Philippi, he could derive 
essential aid from his skill in medicine. The 
simple fact that Paul saw fit to call him the 
" beloved physician," is high praise in gene- 
ral, as well as a high proof of his ability to 
do good among the people with whom and 
for whom he labored. 

In reference to this point I can never for- 
get the example of our Saviour. Though he 
had the power to do good in any way he 
chose, though he " spake as never man 
spake," yet one principal, I might say lead- 
ing, part of his mission appears to have been 
to do good to the bodies of mankind. This, 
with him, seems to have been an almost in- 
dispensable preliminary to everything else. 
He was incessantly healing the sick. 

So it has been, in some good degree, with 
several of his followers, especially in a land 
of strangers and among a very rude people. 
Nothing so endears a missionary to the peo- 
ple among whom he goes as his friendly 
efforts to cure their diseases. Who that has 
watched the progress of Dr. Parker in China, 
Dr. Bradley in Spain, Dr. Judd in the Sand- 



76 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

wich Islands, and several others who have 
gone forth as missionaries, without coming 
to the conclusion that medical skill, in a mis- 
sionary, may be among the most important 
of his qualifications ? 

I cannot help thinking that the skill of 
the " beloved physician," at Philippi, was 
of immense importance to him, and must 
have made him not only tolerable among the 
people there, but a welcome friend. Even 
if his association with Paul and Silas ren- 
dered him a little unacceptable at first, it is 
hardly to be doubted that they would soon 
get rid of their prejudices, and flock around 
him, as if he were a deliverer. And this 
would prepare the way for them to hear and 
reflect upon the gospel, and, in due time, to 
receive it. 

Nor need we be surprised to find, only 
twelve years afterward, such a good and 
flourishing church in Philippi, as it is evident 
there was from the tenor of Paul's epistle, 
or letter, to it. It is true that Luke, in the 
five years he remained there, had not done 
all which had been done in twelve. Other 
teachers had succeeded him who had, doubt- 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 77 

less, been faithful. But, then, Luke had 
begun the good work. 

In truth, one would be apt to think that, 
at the end of the twelve years alluded to, 
there were many churches established at 
Philippi. For, were it not so, what means 
Paul, in the very introduction of his letter, 
when he speaks of the bishops, or overseers, 
and deacons ? That there were several dea- 
cons to one church, it is perfectly natural to 
believe ; but not that there were many pas- 
tors, or bishops. And yet, I must confess 
that this use of the word bishops does not 
prove anything in favor of the existence of 
more than one church, with anything like 
absolute certainty. 

For I suppose it to be well known that, 
in some places and countries, two bishops 
to a church are quite common. One is the 
pastor, properly so called, because he per- 
forms the pastoral duties of the church, and 
leads in the public prayers ; the other is the 
sermonizer, or instructor. This order of 
things obtained in some of the early New- 
England churches. 

But, be this as it may have been, no one 



78 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

can read the letter of Paul to the Philippians, 
with care, remembering, at the same time, 
that it was only seven years after Luke left 
them, without feeling a good degree of con- 
fidence that the labors of the latter were sig- 
nally blessed to the salvation of souls, either 
while he was with them or afterward. 

Nothing can be more evident, from the 
whole tenor of Paul's letter to the Philippi- 
ans, than that a great and good work had 
been done at Philippi by somebody. That 
Luke was an efficient agent in the perform- 
ance of this work, none can doubt ; though 
that he did it all, none will pretend. 

I have already shown that, painful as had 
been the trials of the Christians at the outset, 
their tendency was favorable to Christianity, 
highly so. So that Luke commenced his 
labors here under what might be regarded, 
in a missionary point of view, many advan- 
tages. What missionary, of modern times, 
would not rejoice to begin his labors in a 
heathen city under circumstances so auspi- 
cious ? He might not, he would not, if a 
good man, desire to be introduced to them in 
such a manner ; but if the fiery attack must 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 79 

come, he would glory, for Christ's sake, in 
the good which he would foresee must, of 
necessity, grow out of it. 

But Luke may have had some other ad- 
vantages for the successful prosecution of his 
labors at Philippi, besides those which have 
been mentioned. I have not alluded at length 
to what Lydia may have done, any further 
than to open her house to the missionaries. 

Now that she continued her hospitalities 
to Luke, who can doubt ? That she exerted 
the whole of her influence, and spent much 
of her substance in aiding him to extend the 
gospel, it is natural to believe. How much 
she had it in her power to do is, as I have 
elsewhere suggested, very uncertain. 

If, indeed, she were wealthy, she may 
have done much toward building a house for 
public worship. She may have been fore- 
most in the contributions which were so 
liberally made, from time to time, for the 
benefit of Paul and other eminent laborers, 
and also for the poor saints at Jerusalem. 
She may have done much to spread abroad, 
through the city and elsewhere, important 
intelligence — a matter of great consequence 



80 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

in a country where there are but few means 
of scattering intelligence, and where there 
are no public mails or newspapers. She 
may have contributed to the education of 
indigent young men converted from among 
the Philippians, to be teachers of the gospel 
themselves. Seldom do the wealthy give 
their munificence a better direction than 
when they educate pious native teachers for 
a work which, for the most part, after all, 
can be far better done by them than by 
foreign missionaries.* 

But the last remark reminds me of another 
form of aid which Luke may have received 
in his labors at Philippi. What were Timo- 
thy and Silas doing for nearly two years after 
the gospel was first promulgated at Philippi ? 
Paul, as we know, was, much of his time, 
in Greece, in and about Corinth. He had 
little time to do anything for Philippi. But 
Silas and Timothy, as it seems to me, may 

* On this point I hope I shall not be misunderstood. 
What I have said of the value of native resident preach- 
ers does not detract at all from, another form of labor. 
The latter is always wanted, as it was at Philippi, to 
bring the community up to a condition in which the 
former becomes useful, and often still longer. 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 81 

have been spared a part of the time for this 
purpose. Indeed, there is some reason for 
believing they were so. 

Nor is this all. When we are told that 
Paul returned from his second tour to Greece, 
and, passing through Macedonia, sailed from 
Philippi, or Neapolis, in company with Luke 
and several other eminent teachers, has it 
never occurred to us to inquire what these 
teachers had been doing in Europe ? Three 
of them, to be sure, viz., Aristarchus, Se- 
cundus, and Sopater, appear to have belonged 
to Europe, and to have been teachers in the 
cities of Thessalonica and Berea. But it 
was not so with Gaius of Derbe, and Tychi- 
chus and Trophimus. May they not have 
been spending some time at Philippi, aiding 
the venerable Luke in his labors ? 

It has been intimated that a great and good 
work had been done for the Philippians prior 
to the time at which Paul wrote to them. 
This, I repeat it, is to be inferred from the 
tenor of his letter. We see from that inte- 
resting document that there must have been, 
not only a good church there — perhaps more 
than one — but also a good degree of Chris- 
6 



82 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

tian purity, and a very large measure of Chris- 
tian benevolence. 

For it is worthy of notice, that while in 
his letters to some other churches Paul finds 
fault with their want of unity, purity, and 
liberality, he says not a word of this sort to 
the Philippians. He continually commends 
them, and especially their liberality. 

Let us quote a few passages from the letter 
of Paul to the Philippians, in confirmation of 
what has just been stated : — • 

" Now, ye Philippians, know also that, in 
the beginning of the gospel, when I departed 
from Macedonia, no church communicated 
with me as concerning giving and receiving, 
but ye only. For even in Thessalonica ye 
sent once and again unto my necessity." 

Allow me to say, in passing, that this 
paragraph, though it does not quite prove 
that a church was gathered in Philippi, 
immediately after Paul left the place, almost 
proves it. It proves, at least, that there was 
a Christian society there, whatever its name 
may have been : for when we are informed 
that the church at Philippi communicated 
with Paul, at Thessalonica, soon after, or at 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 83 

his departure from the former place, we are 
]ed, irresistibly, to the conclusion that such 
church must have been gathered almost 
immediately after the series of remarkable 
events which took place there. Thessalo- 
nica was only about one hundred miles from 
Philippi, and Paul did not probably stay 
there more than a month. His stay, more- 
over, in places between Philippi and Thessa- 
lonica was very limited. In short, it is highly 
probable that a Philippian church sent him 
aid, repeatedly, in one month after he left 
Philippi. 

Again : — " But I rejoice in the Lord greatly, 
that now, at the last, your care of me hath 
flourished again ; wherein ye were also care- 
ful, but ye lacked opportunity." It appears 
from this statement that they had been, all 
the while, benevolently disposed', but had not 
enjoyed an opportunity to bring their bene- 
volence into beneficent action. 

Once more. The letter, from which the 
above extracts were made, was written from 
Rome, toward the close of Paul's two years' 
imprisonment at that place. The church 
of Philippi, having found out where he was, 



84 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN* 

and his condition, sent out their minister, 
Epaphroditus, both to comfort him and to 
supply his wants. While at Rome, Epa- 
phroditus had been sick, dangerously so; 
but had finally recovered. The Philippians 
heard of his sickness, and Epaphroditus, 
having ascertained the fact, was " full of hea- 
viness" on account of it. " The thought of 
their sorrow was more painful to him," says 
one, " than his own sickness." This account 
of the deep interest the Philippians felt in 
Paul — so deep that they sent such a precious 
minister, with gifts, a great distance — is a 
most remarkable one, and places in a very 
strong light the benevolence, and, indeed, 
the general excellence of the Philippian 
Christians. 

Now, in the formation of such a high 
standard of Christian character at Philippi, 
Luke must have had no little agency. Paul 
does not, indeed, say, as he does of the Gala- 
tians, that, if it had been possible, the Philip- 
pians would have plucked out their own eyes 
and given them to him. But he says a great 
deal ; and it is quite evident a great deal more 
might have been said with truth and justice. 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 85 

One means of doing good which Luke 
possessed in an eminent degree remains to 
be mentioned. Such a scholar as he was, 
could not fail to do a great deal for the spread 
of the gospel by letter writing. For though 
public opportunities for sending letters to 
friends were very rare at that time, if not 
almost unknown, yet there were many pri- 
vate opportunities ; and Luke, as it seems 
to me, would be likely to avail himself of 
them. His great age and long acquaintance 
with many, perhaps most, of the first Chris- 
tians, in Jerusalem, Antioch, Asia Minor, and 
Europe, would give him numerous corres- 
pondents, and great influence over them. A 
warm-hearted letter may do much good at 
any time ; but how must the numerous 
churches from Palestine to Macedonia and 
Greece have been edified and encouraged 
by letters from a gospel veteran of more than 
threescore and ten ! 

The hoary head is always a crown of 
glory, if it be found in the way of righteous- 
ness. Many dread the thought of being old, 
who, at the same time, love power and influ- 
ence. Now, although there are some ready 



86 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

to join with the children of Bethel, and say to 
age, " Go up, thou bald head," there are many 
more who, after all, revere old age, and are 
willing to hearken to it. The good, of every 
age, have more or less respect for it ; and 
Luke, though he might not have been the 
man to break down the walls of prejudice in 
heathen lands, was yet one of the best men 
ever raised by Providence for directing the 
public mind after it had been excited by 
younger and more sanguine individuals. 

In short, whatever else Luke may have 
been at Philippi, he was, most assuredly, a 
father there. How great must have been 
the respect of the jailor's children, for exam- 
ple, for father Luke ! I have seen a com- 
munity look up to one of their aged citizens 
with this same kind of feeling ; and this, too, 
though that citizen had not half the means 
of superiority which Luke possessed. 

I have taken for granted that this aged 
servant of Christ spent about five consecutive 
years in the service of his Master at Philippi. 
Of this, however, it is not possible to be cer- 
tain. We only know he was there with the 
missionary company at a certain time, and 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAJN. 87 

that he was not with Paul any more, nor can 
be traced elsewhere, for about five years 
afterward. It is, therefore, generally be- 
lieved that these five years were spent at 
Philippi. 

Did he not visit Antioch during this whole 
period ? Did he make no visits to his friends 
at Jerusalem, Cyrene, or elsewhere ? I do 
not believe that, at his age, he spent time in 
mere visiting. If by visiting friends or foes, 
he could honor God, he was doubtless ready 
to make visits ; and glad to make them. I 
do not believe that, because he was a learned 
man, he was unsocial. Though, as to his 
relatives, if that is what is usually meant by 
the term " friends," I do not suppose that, at 
his age, many of them were living. 

How glorious will be the day when those 
of us who are wise, and to whom shall be 
allotted the precious privilege of shining as 
the sun in the blessed kingdom of our Father, 
shall sit down, not only with Abraham, Isaac, 
Jacob, and Paul, but also with Luke, the be- 
loved physician, to enjoy their society for 
ever and ever ! 

What a day will that be for making 



88 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

acquaintances ! Perhaps, however, I ought 
not to say for making them. There is a sort 
of intercommunion, even here, between the 
souls of the good, still living, and those of 
the departed dead, who lived and died in the 
Lord. How do our sympathies respond to 
the Bible representations of holy men and 
women, men and women whose faces, like 
that of Moses, reflected upon those around 
them the light of the divine countenance ! 
We will call the developments of that great 
day, in behalf of souls that sympathize, a 
renewal of holy fellowship rather than a be- 
ginning — a renewal of an acquaintance begun, 
in spirit, this side of heaven. 

How delightful will be the employment 
of reading, in the records of the eternal 
courts, as in the brightest noon-day beams, 
the history, in all its particulars, of Luke, 
the beloved physician, not merely while at 
Philippi, but for seventy years before, and 
a dozen or more afterward ! I would give 
more, at this moment, (if the expression of 
that wish does not savor of a want of trust 
and confidence, and satisfaction in the divine 
arrangement,) to read or hear the whole his- 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 89 

tory of that thrice venerable friend of God 
and man, than to read the history, however 
glowingly written, of half the individuals 
who now shine on the earth's wide stage, 
and who, perhaps, dazzle us by their elo- 
quence, or awe us by their profoundness, or 
their swords. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

LUKE LEAVES PHILIPPI FOR TROAS. 

Change is written over against all that is 
human; and the time was at. hand when 
Luke, the beloved physician, must leave the 
people of Philippi, and return to Syria and 
Palestine. His divine Master had another 
field for him. Perhaps his great age required 
an intermission of severe pastoral labors. 

Paul, meanwhile, besides spending nearly 
two years in Greece, two or three at Ephesus, 
and several months in other places, had pass- 
ed along the Macedonian coast, and spent 
three months there. A full portion of this 
time had, doubtless, been given to the people 
of Philippi and Thessalonica ; and Luke had, 



90 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

for a short time, the most precious and im- 
portant aid. 

Going from Macedonia into Greece, he 
soon returned to Philippi, and thence (or from 
Neapolis) sailed for Cesarea, in Palestine. 
In this voyage Luke accompanied him, as 
well as several others. 

Were it not that Luke was himself the 
historian of the events, I know no reason 
why we might not have had as glowing a 
description of the farewell at Philippi, as 
that which he has given of two other parting 
scenes on this very homeward voyage. When 
Paul was the agent, or hero, or, indeed, any 
one besides himself, Luke could give as 
graphic an account of scenes like this as 
any other individual. 

I do not mean by this to complain of him, 
or his record ; for that were to find fault with 
that divine Spirit who hath caused all Holy 
Scripture to be recorded. I make the state- 
ments, first, because I think, in a book like 
this, they are demanded ; and, secondly, be- 
cause I am desirous of satisfying the rising 
inquiries of many who read carefully the 
contents of the sacred volume. 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 91 

But how much or how little Luke had 
done while in Macedonia, and how long or 
how short the residence — for there is some 
room for mistake about the time, though it 
cannot be less than five years — and how much 
or how little he loved the Philippians, or was 
beloved by them, the hour of separation at 
length came. And, whatever may have been 
the circumstances of the separation in its 
particulars, of one thing we may be pretty 
sure : that it was final ; and that all expected 
it would be so. At such an age, and under 
such circumstances, his return to Macedonia 
could not reasonably be expected, or even 
hoped for. 

The ship they sailed in was not bound to 
Cesarea, but to the southern part of Lesser 
Asia, to a port called Patara. What its 
lading may have been we are not informed. 
Perhaps it; was not deeply laden, there being 
no less than nine passengers. 

But who were the nine persons going in 
the vessel — who, I mean, besides Luke and 
Paul ? Were Timothy and Silas here ? They 
went there with them ; where were they now? 

Timothy was one of the number, but not 



92 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

Silas. Gaius, of Derbe, was another. Derbe 
was a city in the southern part of Asia Minor, 
in the region where Paul and Barnabas, first 
traveled as foreign missionaries, and not far 
from Listra, the supposed birthplace of 
Timothy. It is possible that Gaius was an 
acquaintance of the latter. Two more of the 
company were Aristarchus and Secundus, 
of Thessalonica. Sopater, of Berea, was 
another. Thessalonica and Berea were 
places at which Paul had labored, and 
Sopater was doubtless one of his converts. 
The remaining two of Luke's company were 
Tychicus and Trophimus, Both these last 
were from Asia Minor ; one of them (Tro- 
phimus) was from Ephesus. 

We may see, at once, that if the vessel 
in which Luke and his companions sailed 
carried nothing but the passengers I have 
named, it carried in it one of the noblest car- 
goes which was ever freighted from any port. 
Why, Luke, Paul, and Timothy alone were 
worth a legion of some men. 

Is this exaggeration ? To what legion of 
men, the best skilled and disciplined, has the 
world been half as much indebted for the 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 93 

blessings which now flow to it from the 
gospel of Christ, as to these three men ? 
And, then, the remaining six were such men 
as we do not often meet with. They were 
greater conquerors, even then, than Nim- 
rod, Alexander, Cesar, Genghis Khan, Na- 
poleon. 

The world in which we live knows very little 
of its truly great men. Some who have made 
a great deal of noise and bustle, and, per- 
haps, have been the willing instruments of 
shedding rivers of human blood, are spoken 
of as great men ; while others, who have, 
perhaps, been the instruments of saving quite 
as many lives as the most noisy conqueror 
ever destroyed, or w r ho have been instru- 
mental in saving souls, one of which is worth 
a world, are as yet hardly ever named. 

But their turn will come. Such individu- 
als as John, Paul, Luke, Luther, Wesley, 
Howard, and other good men, will, in due 
time, be valued as much more highly than 
those who are usually accounted the great 
and mighty of the earth, as the heavens are 
higher than the world on which we dwell. 

A part of the passengers from Europe to 



94 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

Palestine were under the necessity of making 
a longer stay at Troas, and, therefore, set 
out before the rest ; while Luke, Paul, Ti- 
mothy, and others, remained a few days 
longer on account of the feast of the unlea- 
vened bread. Why they should desire to 
remain till the days of this feast were over, 
since, though they were Jews or Jewish 
proselytes at the beginning, they had now 
embraced a better faith, and were endeavor- 
ing to become worthy members of a kingdom 
which is righteousness, and peace, and joy 
in. the Holy Ghost, it is not easy, at least for 
me, to determine. And yet the language 
of the narrative would seem to imply this 
desire. 

In due time, however, the whole company 
was ready for the voyage, and Paul and his 
associates bade Europe farewell. The an- 
chors were lifted, the sails were spread, the 
shores of Macedonia began to recede from 
their view, and the sea to spread out before 
them. This part of the Mediterranean was 
generally known by the name of the Egean 
Sea. There was but one island in their way 
to Troas, where they were to touch, at least 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 95 

long enough to take in Tychicus and Tro- 
phimus ; nor was this a very convenient land- 
ing place. They would, therefore, aim to 
go as directly and as swiftly to Troas as 
possible. 



CHAPTER IX. 

VOYAGE TO PATARA. 

They t were about five days in reaching 
Troas. When they went from Troas to 
Neapolis, five or six years before, the voyage, 
as you will recollect, was performed in two 
days. Why they made so much slower pro- 
gress now than they did then is uncertain ; 
perhaps they had contrary winds. 

On reaching Troas, they found Tychicus 
and his associates, with whom, and the little 
church previously gathered there, they spent 
several days, including one Lord's day, or 
sabbath. 

Preparation had, doubtless, been made for 
their reception, and extensive notice had been 
given of their coming, that as many of the 
inhabitants as possible might come together. 



96 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN* 

Perhaps considerable attention had already 
been drawn to the preaching of Tychicus and 
Trophimus. 

For my own part, I doubt whether the 
people of Troas needed much urging to 
come together, in order to hear Luke and 
Paul. They were probably both old ac- 
quaintances. It is, in truth, more than pro- 
bable that the little church there — the '• dis- 
ciples," as Luke calls them — were gathered 
by Luke and Paul ; but if so, how would 
their hearts leap for joy to see and hear them 
again, after so long an absence ! 

The modest historian (Luke himself) says 
little of their reception. The first thing he 
speaks of is a meeting held on the Lord's 
day. " And upon the first day of the week," 
says he, " when the disciples came together 
to break bread, Paul preached unto them." 

From this statement we see that somebody 
had been there before this. For there were, 
in the first place, disciples. In the second 
place, these disciples appear to have been in 
the habit of holding meetings. To be sure, 
Paul was expected among them ; but, then, 
the historian says, " when the disciples came 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 97 

together to break bread." He does not say, 
when they came together to hear Paul, or to 
have Paul break bread to them ; but it would 
seem from his remarks that they came to- 
gether to break bread among themselves. 
In the third place, they were already in the 
habit, despite of their Jewish education, or 
heathen prejudices, of coming together the 
first day of the week — that is, of regarding 
the Lord's day. Fourthly, they were accus- 
tomed to celebrate the death of Christ. And, 
lastly, this supper was probably eaten every 
Lord's day. 

Whether this Sunday meeting was the 
first which was held after their arrival, not- 
withstanding the general belief, is, at least, 
doubtful. For Paul preached to them at this 
meeting, we are assured, ready to depart on 
the morrow. Yet it is usual to suppose they 
remained there seven days. Can it be that 
they were at Troas six days before they held 
any religious meeting ? 

If we scan the matter closely, we shall 

find reason to believe that, in some instances, 

by seven days is meant, in the Bible, only a 

part of seven days ; such a part as shall in- 

7 



98 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN, 

elude, among the Jews, the seventh, and, 
among Christians, the Lord's day. It may 
have been so in this instance. Or it is cer- 
tainly possible that they had preached several 
times — Luke among the rest— before the 
Lord's day arrived. 

This Lord's-day meeting, to which I have 
alluded, whether the first or not which was 
held after their arrival, was, in many respects, 
a most remarkable one. It was held in an 
upper chamber, in the third story of the 
building. They had not as yet erected any 
house in Troas for special religious purposes ; 
but, as was common in those days, every- 
where, from Jerusalem to the remotest parts 
of what might have been called Christendom, 
they met in chambers, such as were at the 
same time private and commodious. 

The enemies of Christianity, in those days, 
reproached the Christians with holding their 
meetings in private places, without lights, 
that they might perpetrate among themselves 
abominable vices. Perhaps to remove every 
appearance of evil, or rather every possible 
ground of reproach, this upper chamber at 
Troas was well lighted. 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 99 

It was here that Paul preached so long, 
even till midnight ; and that Eutychus, a 
young man who was present, sitting in an 
open window, fell from it, and was instantly 
killed. It was on this occasion, moreover 
a very rare one, certainly, that Paul exerted 
his miraculous powers, and restored the 
young man to life, and to his friends. 

Whether Luke and the rest of his travel- 
ing companions were present to witness this 
painful, and, in the end, highly-interesting 
scene, he has not informed us. In speaking 
of the affair he mentions none but Paul. 
Yet this manner of speaking was not at all 
unusual with him. It was the history of 
Paul, and the other apostles and first Chris- 
tians, that he was writing, and not his own 
story. 

Indeed, it is quite curious to observe that 
he scarcely mentions himself at all, except 
in those parts of the narrative which seem to 
have been copied, nearly entire, from his jour- 
nal. When they are traveling, he says, "we 
sailed ;" " we came" to such or such a place ; 
" we abode," etc. But when he has occa- 
sion to depart from mere journalizing, he 



100 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

seldom, if ever, mentions himself, even when 
we know, from the nature of the case, he 
must have been present. We shall have 
some striking illustrations of the latter fact, 
concerning him, in the two following chapters. 

To me it seems reasonable to believe, 
that not only Luke, but the whole company, 
were present at this sabbath-evening meet- 
ing, at Troas. I have no doubt they sat 
under Paul's preaching till midnight, and 
were present at the fall and restoration of 
Eutychus. I have not a doubt that they 
were present at the discussion and breaking 
of bread, which took up the time till day 
dawned, and the approach of the rising sun 
reminded them that it was time for them to 
get ready to depart. 

On Monday morning they proceeded again 
on their voyage. The next place at which 
they were to touch was Assos. By water, 
its distance from Troas was not far from 
fifty miles. The distance, by land, was 
scarcely twenty. Paul, notwithstanding his 
severe labors all the preceding night, prefer- 
red to walk as far as Assos ; but Luke and 
his companions chose to remain in the vessel. 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 101 

We need not wonder at this, when we con- 
sider their probable exhaustion and fatigue, 
and Luke's great age — now seventy-three 
or seventy-four years old. The wonder is, 
how Paul, though greatly accustomed to 
travel on foot, could have preferred it, under 
the circumstances. 

They arrived safely at Assos, probably 
about noon. There they took in Paul. 
They then proceeded to Mitylene. This 
was the capital of the island of Lesbos, and 
was on the south-eastern part of the island. 
They did not go on shore, but only anchored, 
and spent the night in the harbor. 

Lesbos was one of the largest islands in the 
whole Egean Sea. Its circumference was 
one hundred and sixty-eight miles. It is, 
in truth, one of the most beautiful, as well 
as most fertile islands in that part of the 
world ; and is still famous for its wines. The 
modern name of the island is Metelin. 
Mitylene, the modern Castro, was famous 
for its stately edifices. 

The next day, Tuesday, they sailed as far 
as Chios, where they stopped for the night. 
Chios is the same with the modern Scio, 



102 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

though it has sometimes, also, been called 
Coos. It lies near the Asiatic coast, between 
Lesbos and Samos ; and will long be re- 
membered as the seat of a dreadful massacre, 
by the Turks, in the year 1823. 

From Chios they went, the third day, as far 
as Trogyllium. This was a small town and 
promontory in Asia Minor, between Ephesus 
and the mouth of the river Meander, opposite 
the island of Samos. At Trogyllium they 
passed the night. 

Their voyage this day, of seventy-five or 
eighty miles, must have been a very delight- 
ful one. In the morning, the southern part 
of Chios was in full view ; and, in the after- 
noon, Samos, on the right hand, was in full 
view through its whole extent — say, twenty- 
five miles. On their left hand, in sight, all 
the day long, was the coast of Asia Minor. 
Early in the morning they were nearly op- 
posite Smyrna, but the distance was so great 
that I do not think they could see it. They 
came nearer to it in the afternoon, when it 
was little more than thirty miles off, in the 
north ; but the hills must have shut it from 
their sight. 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 103 

Toward evening, in passing round the 
eastern end of Samos, they came within sight 
of Ephesus. Luke and the rest would natu- 
rally say to themselves, Paul surely will be 
anxious to stop here. But, as I have already 
said, they went directly by to Trogyllium. 

On Thursday — but how early in the day 
does not appear — they reached Miletus. 
Here, by Paul's request, or, at least, as it 
seems, for his accommodation, they made a 
stay of several days. This was, doubtless, 
the first place at which they went on shore 
after leaving Troas. There were reasons 
for this. First, it is pretty evident there 
were no churches on any of the islands, or 
other places they had passed, except Ephe- 
sus. Secondly, they were, in all probability, 
unfit to preach, even if they had stopped long 
enough, after so severe a day and night's 
labor at Troas. But, thirdly, they were in 
haste — Paul especially — to reach Jerusalem. 

But if they were in great haste, why, it 
may be asked, did they stay several days at 
Miletus ? It would seem to have been al- 
most indispensably necessary for Paul to 
communicate with his Ephesian brethren 



104 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN 

after a long absence, and he had been un- 
willing to stop at Ephesus, lest, in the mul- 
titude of calls which might be made on him, 
he might be too long detained. He had 
another plan in view, and it was that he 
might execute this plan that they called at 
Miletus. 

For no sooner had they arrived, than Paul 
sent away to Ephesus, a distance of about 
forty or fifty miles, and requested the elders 
of the church there to come down and meet 
him at Miletus. They complied with the 
request ; and a meeting w T as held on their 
arrival, at which Paul made an address to 
them — one of the most moving addresses to 
be found anywhere in the English language . 

I have called it an address. It was his 
farewell ; for, at that time, it was Paul's full 
and firm belief that he should never have an- 
other opportunity of visiting that part of the 
world, or at least Ephesus. Why he was 
impelled to this belief, and the confidence 
with which he entertained it, appears from 
the following extracts : — 

" Behold I go bound in the spirit to Jerusa- 
lem, not knowing the things that shall befall 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 105 

me there, save that the Holy Ghost witness- 
ed in every city that bonds and afflictions 
abide me." " And now, behold, I know that 
ye all among whom I have gone, preaching 
the kingdom of God, shall see my face no 
more." 

Whether they ever did see his face again, 
this side the eternal world, is a matter about 
which learned men are not much agreed. 
Suffice it to say, that at the time of his 
address he entertained no expectation of the 
kind ; and that when the meeting was over, 
and had broken up, the company resumed 
their voyage. 

The whole meeting, and especially the 
finally parting scene of Paul with the elders, 
is so affecting, that w r e forget Luke and the 
rest of the company, and scarcely remember 
they were there. As for Luke, he, as usual, 
also forgets himself. Were it not for the 
fact, that he paints the scene as none could 
do who had not witnessed it, and a single 
remark dropped by him concerning their 
departure, we might almost think he was 
really absent. 

When the separation had been effected ; 



106 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

when the party had risen from their knees, 
given full vent to their feelings in tears, and 
they were each and all going their way, 
Luke says of his own party, "After we 
were gotten from them," etc. Scott, in his 
commentary, in remarking on this singularly- 
constructed passage, observes that it may 
be rendered, "And it came to pass, that 
embarking, having been torn from them," 
etc. 

Here the "beloved physician" reveals him- 
self fully ; and, as one might readily imagine, 
when he least thinks of it. How it is pos- 
sible to account for such unheard-of modesty ; 
such an entire freedom from the least dispo- 
sition to make himself a hero, or to be seen, 
cannot, in my own view, be accounted for, 
except by taking into account the writer's 
inspiration : nor even then can it be, with- 
out admitting, that what almost all the sacred 
writers were distinguished for stood forth pre- 
eminently in Luke. 

But the ship is under weigh, and a fair 
wind wafts them out of sight of Miletus. 
They leave behind them a place, which, in 
many respects, is deeply interesting : not 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 107 

on account of its heathen temples, one of 
which — a most magnificent one — was dedi- 
cated to Apollo, but from its colonizing cha- 
racter, and its having given birth to so many 
great men. 

For history informs us, that Miletus, it- 
self a colony from Crete, became at length a 
nursery, as it were, to the world. Seneca 
says they established no less than three hun- 
dred and eighty colonies ; and no writer places 
the number at less than eighty. One of their 
facilities for doing this was their great skill 
in navigation, and the abundance of their 
commerce. 

Miletus was also distinguished in the an- 
cient world for having been the birth-place 
of Thales, one of the seven wise men of 
Greece ; Anaximander, his scholar ; Anaxi- 
menes, the philosopher ; Timotheus, the mu- 
sician ; and Cadmus, the orator. 

The first day's voyage from Miletus 
brought the company to the island of Coos. 
This must not be confounded with Chios, 
which sometimes obtained the same name; 
for it was nearly a hundred miles further to 
the south-east, and was much smaller. Coos 



108 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

is now called Stanco, and is exceedingly fer- 
tile and somewhat interesting. 

After spending the night on the shores of 
Coos, they went, the next day, as far as 
Rhodes. Here they barely stopped for the 
night, as they had done at every other place, 
except Miletus. 

Rhodes is about forty miles long, by fifteen 
broad. The Greeks called it Ophiusa, or 
the land of serpents, because these reptiles 
abounded there. It had several strong cities ; 
among which were Rhodes, Lindus, Cami- 
rus, and Jalysus. Here also was the 
famous Colossus, or image of Apollo, in 
bronze, which was seventy cubits high, and 
is said to have contained seven hundred and 
twenty thousand pounds of brass, and to 
have cost three hundred talents. This, 
however, does not determine its expense; 
for we are not told what sort of talents 
they were. There were many kinds of 
talents. 

From Rhodes they sailed, the next morn- 
ing, to Patara, where they safely arrived, 
probably the same evening. It is surprising 
that they should not have had, during their 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 109 

whole progress from Troas to Patara, a single 
storm, nor an accident, nor any unfavorable 
winds. They had sailed, almost without 
exception, from fifty to one hundred miles a 
day, which, considering that they stopped 
the whole of each night, was certainly very 
prosperous and happy voyaging. 

What a contrast, as we shall see in its 
place, between this voyage and one made by 
Luke and Paul in a contrary direction, seve- 
ral years afterward ! How different the issues 
of the two journeys ! 

Patara was a small sea-port in Lycia, one 
of the southern provinces of Asia Minor. It 
was nearly opposite the island of Rhodes. 
It was to this place that the vessel, in which 
Luke and his company were sailing, was 
bound. 

But a kind Providence was in their 
favor ; for they found a vessel at Patara 
bound to Tyre, a city of Phenicia. Phenicia 
was but a little way to the north-west of 
Palestine ; and it was thought, by all means, 
advisable to seize on an immediate opportu- 
nity of getting so far toward the place of their 
destination. 



110 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

Whether Timothy and Gaius continued 
with Luke and Paul, and accompanied them 
to Jerusalem, or left them at Miletus or Pa- 
tara, is not stated. 



CHAPTER X. 

THE VOYAGE TO TYRE. 

Without much delay in exchanging ves- 
sels, Luke and his company set sail for Tyre. 
Their course, if they took the nearest route, 
was nearly south-east, a distance of about 
three hundred miles. 

There were two ways of going from Pa- 
tara to Tyre, by water. One was to keep 
close to the main land of Asia Minor, pass 
ing over the seas of Pamphylia and Cilicia, 
and leaving the island of Cyprus on the right 
hand ; the other was to leave Cyprus on the 
left hand, and steer directly to Tyre. In 
good weather, the latter course would be 
preferred ; in stormy or cloudy weather, the 
former. 

They concluded to take the shorter course. 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. Ill 

This carried them closely along the south- 
western extremity of Cyprus, within sight 
of Paphos, the capital. From the coast of 
Asia, some thirty miles eastward of Patara 
to the coast of Cyprus, was scarcely sixty 
miles, so that, with a fair wind, they probably 
reached Cyprus the first day and evening. 

Whether they landed there is uncertain. 
Paul might naturally enough feel a strong 
desire to revisit the island after an absence 
of fifteen years or more ; but it is scarcely 
probable that he now had an opportunity. 

Yet it must have been greatly interesting 
merely to sail along its coast for thirty or 
forty miles, and behold some of its cities and 
villages. This island was one hundred and 
fifty miles long, and seventy broad, or consi- 
derably larger than the whole country of Pa- 
lestine, or the state of Vermont ; and con- 
tained about one million of inhabitants. A 
few centuries later than the time of Luke 
and Paul it contained twelve large cities, 
besides many smaller ones, and more than 
eight hundred villages. The inhabitants, 
however, until Paul and Barnabas traveled 
there and introduced the Christian religion, 



112 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

were exceedingly wicked. They seemed 
wholly given over to licentiousness and 
idolatry. 

The distance from the last point of the 
coast of Cyprus which the missionary com- 
pany would naturally traverse to Tyre, on 
the coast of Phenicia, must have been about 
seventy miles. They arrived, in due time, 
at the latter place, and in safety. 

Here a little church seems to have been 
in existence, and Luke and Paul spent seve- 
ral days with it. Some of its members, 
endowed, perhaps, with the spirit of pro- 
phecy, came to Paul, and warned him not 
to go to Jerusalem. It does not appear that 
they foresaw the particular dangers to which 
he w T ould be exposed there ; or, if they did, 
that they announced them. 

As soon as the time had arrived for their 
departure, they made the necessary prepara- 
tion. There was no difficulty in procuring 
a passage from Tyre to any part of the coast 
of Palestine, especially Cesarea and Joppa; 
and accordingly a passage was soon procured, 
and their freight put aboard of the vessel. 

I have spoken of Tyre as if it were a place 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 113 

of considerable commerce ; and it certainly 
was so. It appears to have been the capital 
of the province of Phenicia ; and the people 
of this province, as is well known, were the 
first of their age in navigation and commerce, 
as well as highly respectable for their know- 
ledge of manufactures. Tyre was not the 
only city along the coast of Phenicia. Sidon, 
Sarepta, Ptolemais, and several others, were 
places of much trade. 

None of them, however, exceeded Tyre, 
or even came up to it. Its ships whitened 
the sea ; its sailors were found in almost all 
parts of the known world ; and its citizens 
were remarkable for their industry and acti- 
vity, as well as for their general intelligence. 
In many respects it was the centre of trade 
for the maritime world. 

Perhaps, however, it may be well to ob- 
serve that, at the time of Luke and Paul's 
visit, which must have been about the year 
of our Lord 60, Tyre was a very different 
place from what it had been at the first. 
Originally it was eighteen miles in circum- 
ference, and stood on a little hill-top on the 
main land. Now it was on a small island, 



114 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

opposite to the site of the more ancient 
city. 

Since Luke's time, Tyre has been reduced 
to a mere village, with only a few inhabitants, 
and one solitary. merchant. Within the last 
forty years, however, it has been rising again, 
and travelers say it now contains about eight 
hundred houses, and six or eight thousand 
inhabitants. It is called Zur, and has some 
trade in silk and tobacco. It is twenty-five 
miles south of Sidon, and twenty-seven north 
of Ptolemais, or Acre, 

The missionaries being ready to go on 
board, their friends at Tyre, with true Chris- 
tian politeness, accompanied them to the sea- 
shore, where the vessel in which they were 
to embark was lying ; where a scene, not 
unlike that at Miletus, was acted over again ; 
with one point of difference, viz., that here 
were men, women, and children, while at 
Miletus were none but Luke and Paul, their 
company, and the Ephesian elders. 

Those who have witnessed the departure 
from some of our missionary ports — say Bos- 
ton or New-York — of a vessel containing a 
band of missionaries, going out to Africa, 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 115 

Asia, or Oregon, may, perhaps, form an im- 
perfect idea of the scene to which I allude — - 
that took place at the port of Tyre. The 
whole band — first the missionaries, with per- 
haps the sailors and the people of Tyre — ■ 
held a meeting at the water's edge. 

They first knelt and prayed together. No 
other religious exercises are mentioned, 
though it is by no means improbable that 
they sung praises ; for it is well known that 
singing constituted an important part of the 
worship of the first Christians. It is worthy 
of notice that they kneeled, notwithstanding 
the inconvenience of kneeling on the sea- 
shore — which shows that this posture, during 
worship, was deemed of more importance at 
that time than by some of us at present. 

But the hour of parting came, and a 
solemn hour it was, most evidently. Luke 
only says they took leave one of another ; 
his own company going on board the ship, 
while the men, women, and children of Tyre 
returned to their respective homes. 



116 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

CHAPTER XL 

THE VOYAGE CONCLUDED. 

At Ptolemais, the first place where Luke 
and his company stopped, after leaving Tyre, 
they also found a few Christians, with whom, 
after exchanging the usual salutations, they 
abode one day. The particulars of their stay 
are not given. 

The next day they left Ptolemais for Ce- 
sarea. Some, indeed, have supposed a part 
of the original company left the vessel at 
Ptolemais. Luke says, " We, that were of 
Paul's company, departed ;" from which it 
is inferred — though I think rather hastily — 
that some of them were not destined to be of 
his company any longer. 

The distance from Ptolemais to Cesarea 
was only thirty-six miles. It was less than 
a day's journey. They were soon there, 
and, I doubt not, were glad of it. In the 
somewhat crooked course they had pursued 
from Philippi, the whole distance they had 
passed over was little less than one thousand 
miles. 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 117 

At Cesarea, too, they found brethren ready- 
to receive them ; probably in greater num- 
bers than they had found in any other city 
they had visited after leaving Philippi : for 
the gospel had been early introduced here ; 
first by Peter, through whose instrumentality 
the Roman centurion, Cornelius, was con- 
verted ; and next by Philip, the evangelist. 

Cesarea, at this time, was probably but 
little past the meridian of its glory. It 
was, indeed, a very ancient city, but had 
never been greatly distinguished, in any 
respect, till the time of Herod the Great, 
who rebuilt it and named it Cesarea, in ho- 
nor of Augustus Cesar. Many splendid edi- 
fices were erected, among which was a tem- 
ple to Cesar, in which was placed his statue. 

No place, say historians, ever rose, in a 
very short time, to such an extraordinary 
height of splendor as Cesarea. It was not 
only splendid and populous, but while India 
was a Roman province, it was the seat of 
the Roman governor of that province. And 
yet this very Cesarea is now inhabited only 
by jackals and beasts of prey. 

I have alluded to Philip, the evangelist, 



118 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

as having been instrumental in introducing 
Christianity to this city. After he had 
preached in Samaria, and caused quite a 
revival of religion there, he was called away 
to the south, to preach to the Ethiopian 
eunuch ; afterward he returned to Cesarea. 
More than a quarter of a century had passed 
away, and on the arrival of Luke and Paul 
here, they found Philip. 

Whether he had been here . all this time 
preaching the gospel, or whether he had only 
considered it his home, while he himself was 
abroad preaching, or whether even his fa- 
mily had been here the whole time, it is 
almost impossible to decide. At the time 
of Luke and Paul's arrival, he had a 
family here, consisting, among others, 
of "four daughters, virgins, w T hich did 
prophesy." 

Our travelers spent a considerable time at 
Cesarea. Those who recollect how unwill- 
ing Paul was to be detained at Ephesus, 
lest he should not arrive seasonably at Jeru- 
salem, may wonder, at first thought, why he 
should be willing to stop so long at Cesarea. 
But it must also be recollected that the dan- 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 119 

gers of the sea were now over, and the jour- 
ney had been so prosperous that they had 
gained time to stop a few weeks wherever 
they chose. 

From the account given by Luke, they 
were most evidently acquainted at Cesarea. 
We " came," says he, " to Cesarea, and en- 
tered into the house of Philip, the evangelist, 
which was one of the seven, and abode with 
him." They seem hardly to have waited 
for an invitation. The probability is, that 
some of them, having been entertained there 
before, knew that Philip's house was always 
open to Christian travelers, especially Chris- 
tian missionaries- 
Here the question naturally arises in one's 
mind, Was not Luke at Jerusalem at the 
time of the appointment of the seven deacons, 
and did he not then become acquainted with 
Philip ? And had they not met occasionally, 
or at least kept up a correspondence by letter 
afterward ? Nay, more ; may not Philip and 
Luke have been fellow-workers during some 
of the many years which elapsed between 
the persecution which drove the latter from 
Jerusalem to Antioch and the meeting of the 



120 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 



missionary company at Troas, and their de- 
parture for Macedonia ? 

There is one fact in the history of Luke 
which may have passed unnoticed by super- 
ficial readers of the Bible. It will b§ recol- 
lected that, when Paul bade farewell to the 
Ephesian elders, he manifested a strong pre- 
sentiment that evil was about to befall him 
at Jerusalem, and that this idea was con- 
firmed by the Christians at Tyre. 

Here, at Cesarea, there was another con- 
firmation of the same thing. A prophet, 




named Agabus, having come there from Je- 
rusalem, " took Paul's girdle, and bound his 
own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the 
Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews, at Jerusalem, 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 121 

bind the man that owneth this girdle, and 
shall deliver him into the hands of the 
Gentiles." 

Let us now notice the effect of this remark- 
able prophecy. Luke says in his narrative, 
the " Acts," " When we heard these things, 
both we and they of that place" — that is, of 
Cesarea — " besought him not to go up to 
Jerusalem." But Paul answered, " What 
mean ye to weep and to break mine heart ? 
for I am ready, not only to be bound, but 
also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the 
Lord Jesus. And when he would not be 
persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of 
the Lord be done." 

This is a development of Luke's character, 
I say, which may not have attracted attention, 
and which, at first view, will not be apt to 
strike us favorably. Why, it may be asked, 
should an old soldier of the cross, like Luke, 
give such cowardly advice ? Why is he found 
begging Paul to revoke his promise, and keep 
away from Jerusalem, lest he should sustain 
injury there ? 

But we must remember, in the first place, 
that Paul and Luke were, physically, very 



122 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

differently constituted. Luke, though bold — 
like every other true Christian — was, never- 
theless, more likely to shrink at the first sight 
of persecution, than Paul. I say at the first 
sight ; for it will be observed that, at second 
thought, or, at least, upon a little more reflec- 
tion, he was ready to submit all to " the will 
of the Lord." 

In the second place, we must recollect that 
Luke was now an old man, and had the feel- 
ings of an old man. Every man, however 
good his habits, and however excellent his 
health, is an old man at seventy-three or 
seventy-four years of age. Then, again, 
his long acquaintance with, and intimate 
friendship for, Paul — perhaps a feeling of 
dependence also, like that of a fond father 
upon a son — must not be forgotten. 

In the third place, we have his honesty 
as an offset to his cowardice, in this instance, 
if any should think it deserving the name: 
for he frankly confesses that he gave the ad- 
vice, and makes no apology for giving it. 
Is there not a good degree of moral courage 
in confessing acts of this sort, which must 
stand on record against us ? Luke might, 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 123 

for aught we can see, have merely said of 
Paul, that his friends, who were with him at 
Cesarea, endeavored to persuade him not to 
go to Jerusalem. This, it is true, would 
have been equivalent to saying what he has 
said, but would have left us less certain that 
his advice was included. 

We shall see, in the end, that Luke was 
no coward. We shall see that few men, of 
his age, had more of that true courage w r hich 
Christianity — and probably that alone — im- 
parts, than the beloved physician. 



CHAPTER XII. 

RETURN TO JERUSALEM AND ADVENTURES 
THERE. 

In process of time, Paul and Luke, and 
the rest of the company, left Cesarea for 
Jerusalem. The distance was about sixty 
miles ; and their course was nearly south- 
east. 

How they traveled this hilly road is not 
quite clear, though it is pretty obvious that 
they did not walk and carry their baggage. 



1 24 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

This last would have been too burdensome, 
at least for Luke, even if it could be true that 
they had brought nothing but money as the 
contributions of the Macedonian churches. 
Luke was too old a man to travel about on 
foot, and carry his baggage. 

There went up with them from Cesarea 
several of the Christians of that place, among 
whom was also one citizen of Jerusalem, a 
good man, whose name was Mnason. This 
man invited Luke and Paul, and their com- 
panions in travel, to take lodgings with him 
when they arrived there ; and they gladly 
accepted the invitation. I am, in no wise, 
certain that Mnason did not cause them to 
be carried, at his own expense, all the way 
from Cesarea to Jerusalem. This, however, 
is wholly conjecture. 

But be this as it may, they at length 
arrived at Jerusalem, and took lodgings 
at Mnason's house. The Christians of 
Jerusalem received them with great joy. 
And why should they not ? Their absence, 
at the shortest, had been an absence of many 
years ; and, as for Luke, it is not certain he 
had ever been there since the beginning of 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 125 

the persecution, nearly thirty years before. 
The arrival of a band of such men at Jerusa- 
lem was an era in the history of the church. 

The very next day after their arrival a 
meeting was held in Jerusalem, at which 
Luke and Paul, and doubtless the rest of the 
company from Europe, were present. At 
this meeting, as usual, Paul was the chief 
speaker ; and James a venerable elder at 
Jerusalem, appears to have been a sort of 
presiding officer. Luke says, " Paul went 
in with us unto James, and all the elders 
were present." 

The meeting was one of deep interest, and 
of great and permanent importance. It re- 
moved the prejudices of all who were present 
against Paul, and convinced them that he was 
indeed a messenger of God to the Gentiles ; 
and that God had wrought glorious things 
by the hands of him and his associates in the 
ministry. 

How far and how long Luke remained 
with Paul at Jerusalem, and how he was 
employed for two or three years afterward, 
not the slightest intimation, so far as I know, 
is given. We may form a thousand con- 



126 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

jectures, but they may, or may not, be con* 
formable to truth. 

We know, from Luke, the history of Paul — • 
that, soon after the meeting I have mentioned 
at Jerusalem, a mob assailed him with such 
violence that he came very near losing his 
life. He was rescued by Lysias, the tribune 
of the Roman garrison in Jerusalem. But 
this did not allay the prejudices against him, 
nor quiet the spirit of persecution. The 
Jews banded themselves together, and took 
an oath that they would neither eat nor drink 
till they had destroyed him. They did not 
succeed in effecting his destruction ; but he 
was at length sent away bound to Cesarea 
for trial. After his trial had been deferred, 
under one plea or another, for about two 
years, he appealed to Cesar, and was accord- 
ingly sent thither. 

It seems to me hardly probable that Luke 
was absent from Palestine much of this time. 
First ; because, if he had been, some notice, 
I am almost sure, would have been taken of 
his labors ; even though it were ever so brief 
or so modest. Secondly ; because his ac- 
count of Paul is too minute and too graphic 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. ^ 127 

to admit, for a moment, the doubt that, if he 
were not actually on the spot, he was near 
it. Thirdly ; no sooner is it determined 
that Paul should be sent to Rome for his 
trial, than we find Luke at Cesarea with 
him. 

Is it not natural to suppose that, while 
Paul was confined for two years at Cesarea, 
with permission that his friends might come 
to see him w T hen they chose, Luke was, also, 
in the city — perhaps in Philip's family ? 
Paul may have had, what is now usually 
called, the liberty of the yard, or something 
analogous to it, at least a part of the time ; 
for we are expressly assured that Felix com- 
manded the centurion, who had him in charge, 
to let him have liberty, so far as was consist- 
ent with his safekeeping. 

One thing more, Luke, of a sudden, 
says, " And when it was determined that we 
should sail into Italy," &c. Acts xxvii, 1. 
Did Luke go to Italy, with Paul, as a pri- 
soner? This we cannot believe. What, 
then, is meant? Was there not such per- 
sonal attachment that Luke remained with 
or near Paul all the time of his imprison- 



128 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

ment, and considered himself a member, so 
to speak, of his "household?" 

In any event, it does not seem at all pro- 
bable that, had Luke been absent long, and 
just arrived, he would have spoken thus. 
He would have naid, " When it was deter- 
mined Paul shouid go to Italy," &c. The 
plural of the first personal pronoun would 
not, in all probability, have occurred in the 
first verse of the chapter above quoted ; but 
it would have been first found in the second. 

But we need not be over-curious in our 
inquiries. It is sufficient, no doubt, that we 
know he was here, at Cesarea, at the time 
Paul embarked for Rome, and that, for some 
reason or other, lie embarked along with him. 
It is not absolutely necessary for us to know 
whether he went at the expense of the Roman 
government, or at his own expense, or that 
of his friends and Christian brethren. It is 
not necessary for us to know whether he 
went as a witness or advocate for Paul, or 
as a companion and long-tried friend. 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 129 

CHAPTER XIII. 

VOYAGE, WITH PAUL, TO ITALY. 

Luke, at the time of his setting out to 
accompany Paul to Italy, was not far from 
seventy-six years of age. Some, indeed, 
reckon his age, at this time, to have been 
eighty. For my own part, I do not think 
he could have been over seventy-seven, at 
the most. 

But even at this age, the fact of his going 
out with Paul, on a long and perilous voyage, 
is a most remarkable one. No doubt it was 
highly agreeable to Paul, as it would give 
him many a cheerful opportunity for useful 
and edifying conversation during the solitude 
of the journey, and, perhaps, assist him in 
being more useful than he otherwise would 
be to the crew of the ship in which they 
sailed. 

For both Luke and Paul were of the 
number of those who, when they are travel- 
ing abroad, whatever may be their business, 
endeavor to do good. There is, usually, a 
9 



130 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

fine opportunity of doing good among a large 
crew, on board a ship, if any one have the 
disposition to undertake it. 

Luke and Paul had another old and tried 
friend with them on their long voyage. This 
was Aristarchus. He, too, was by this time 
quite aged ; but not so old as Luke. His 
purpose, in going out with them, is as little 
known as is that of Luke. He was an excel- 
lent man, as well as an intimate acquaintance, 

The vessel they sailed in did not belong 
to Cesarea, but to Adrammyttium, a small 
city on the western coast of Asia Minor. It 
was a vessel of considerable size, and pro- 
bably had a crew of two hundred persons or 
more. Besides these, they had several pri- 
soners on board besides Paul, and a com- 
pany of soldiers to guard them. 

These soldiers were commanded by Julius, 
a Roman centurion, and an excellent man. 
He appears to have been much esteemed by 
his countrymen, and especially by his sol- 
diers ; and he soon gained the confidence 
of Paul and Luke. Paul, in particular, he 
treated as kindly as he would have done a 
father. 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 131 

The journey was begun, as it is generally 
believed, at about the beginning of the Jew- 
ish month Tizri, which corresponds to the 
middle of our September. It w T as a little 
too late in the season to set out on a circuit- 
ous journey of from one to two thousand 
miles, much of which was on the Medi- 
terranean. 

They traveled near the coast as long as 
they could. First, they went along north, 
by Ptolemais, Tyre, and Sidon, precisely on 
the route by which Paul and Luke came 
back from Macedonia ; at least, to Tyre. 
From Tyre, instead of striking directly 
across, they kept along to the north, passing 
the river Orontes, on which stood Antioch, 
and going round the northern side of Cyprus, 
between that island and the coast of Asia 
Minor. 

If Luke had not been to Antioch, since his 
return to Europe up to this time, he must have 
cast a longing look up the Orontes, as they 
passed it. So must Paul, in all probability, 
have sighed to visit his friends, as he came 
near the coast of Cilicia, and thought of his 
beloved Tarsus. But to visit either An- 



132 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

tioch or Tarsus was wholly out of the 
question. 

At length they reached the port of Myra, 
in the province of Lycia, on the coast of 
Asia Minor, to the north-west of Cyprus. 
They had now sailed about six hundred miles 
from Cesarea. Hitherto their voyage had 
been quite prosperous. 

It now became necessary to transfer the 
soldiers and prisoners to some other vessel ; 
for the one in which they had set out would 
not go much further on their route. Julius, 
the centurion, found a vessel loaded, in part, 
with wheat, bound to Italy, in which, at 
length, he put the prisoners. 

From Myra they continued westward. 
At the distance of about a day's sail from 
Myra, they passed Patara. About a day's 
sail further on, they passed the island of 
Rhodes. This large island was briefly de- 
scribed in a former chapter. 

During this part of their voyage the wind 
was unfavorable. Luke says they proceeded 
slowly, and were many days in getting as 
far as Cnidus, a part of the province of 
Caria, not much further westward than the 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 133 

extremity of Rhodes. Here they turned 
south, and sailed along the eastern shore of 
the island of Crete. 

The wind was still against them, but they fi- 
nally succeeded in getting round to the south- 
ern side of the island, and reaching a place 
called the Fair Havens, "nigh whereunto 
was the city of Lasea." Here was a good 
harbor, or, as some assure us, a good place 
for anchorage : a road rather than a harbor. 

Crete, now Candia, near whose shore our 
travelers were now anchored, is one hundred 
and eighty miles long, from east to west, 
and from thirty to fifty broad. It w 7 as 
formerly a wealthy and powerful kingdom, 
containing about one hundred cities. Like 
Phenicia, it was a place of much trade, and 
furnished many excellent mariners. It was 
also famous for its literature. Minos, the 
fabled son of Jupiter and Europa, is said 
to have resided there. 

This island is much less rich and populous 
than it once w 7 as ; though even now it is quite 
productive in corn, wine, and fruits. The 
olive is found here in the greatest perfection. 
Great quantities of wool, flax, silk, honey, 



134 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

and wax, are also produced. The climate 
is delightful, and some parts of the island 
healthful. The Turks own it. With a 
territory not much greater than the state of 
Connecticut, it contains a population nearly 
as large, but not so industrious or virtuous. 

Even at the time of the arrival of Paul and 
Luke at the Fair Havens, the morals of 
the Cretans had greatly degenerated. Epi- 
menides and Callimachus, and Paul after 
them, have said of them : " The Cretans are 
always liars, evil beasts, slow bellies." Paul 
was intimately, and perhaps early acquainted 
with Crete. It is said to have been the 
residence of Titus, to whom Paul addresses 
one of his letters, and who was left there " to 
set in order the things that were wanting." 

On their arrival at the Fair Havens, Paul, 
for once, volunteered his advice to those who 
had the direction of the vessel, which was, 
that they should winter there. His reasons 
for this advice were various. First, their 
progress had been so much retarded by head 
winds, till a season had arrived which, in 
those seas, was peculiarly unfavorable to 
navigation, and even quite dangerous. It 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 135 

was at least as late as the first of October, 
and perhaps nearly or quite November. In 
addition to this, some suppose he had received 
a divine intimation of approaching danger. 
But whether it was so, or whether his 
opinion was based on a good deal of practical 
knowledge of navigation, which he had ac- 
quired by traveling much by water, is of 
course a matter of doubt. There is, how- 
ever, a good deal of reason for believing 
that, in some instances, if not now, he had 
what might be called special revelations con- 
cerning the future. 

But Paul's advice was not regarded. 
Even Julius, the centurion, who, in general, 
had great confidence in his judgment, in this 
instance yielded to the opinion of the owner 
and master of the vessel, and advised them 
to proceed. 

There was another thing, however, which 
had its influence. Many of the company 
thought the harbor of the Fair Havens not 
a suitable place to winter in, and were de- 
sirous of going on about fifty miles further, 
to the city of Phenice. All things considered, 
it was decided to proceed. 



136 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

They therefore weighed anchor, and left 
the Fair Havens for Phenice. As there 
was a gentle breeze constantly blowing from 
the south, they had no fears of being driven 
out to sea, at least before they could reach 
Phenice. 

At first all seemed favorable. But not 
many hours elapsed before a tremendous 
wind arose, which soon put to flight all their 
hopes of a favorable passage, and aroused 
their fears for their safety. It was what 
seamen now call a Levanter, but the Greeks 
of those times called it Euroclydon. 

This wind whirled them about, one way and 
another, for a time ; and not only prevented 
them from reaching Phenice, but actually 
exposed them to the danger of being wrecked 
on the coast. At length, it came with such 
violence from the north-east as to drive them, 
by degrees, away from the coast into the 
main, open sea. 

Another danger now rose to their view. 
Near the south-western extremity of Crete 
there is a small island, now called Gozo, but 
at that time Clauda. They found the vessel 
driving rapidly toward this island. Every 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 137 

effort was now made to prevent so terrible a 
calamity ; and their efforts were finally suc- 
cessful. With the aid of a more northern 
wind, they steered to the south-west a little 
more, and got clear of the island. 

They were now driving fast into the mid- 
dle of the great sea — the Mediterranean. 
New fears arose. They had, indeed, es- 
caped the rocks of Crete and Clauda, but 
whither were they going, and what was to 
be their fate, driven out to sea without any 
compass, and without sun or stars ? But 
they doubtless hoped still. The fury of the 
wind might ere long abate. 

Night was at length approaching, and the 
storm was raging with undiminished fury. 
The pilot was beginning to fear a new dan- 
ger. They were steering directly toward 
a part of the coast of Africa, where were 
two dangerous quicksands, called the Greater 
and Lesser Syrtis. Lest they should fall 
upon these quicksands, and thus inevitably 
be lost, they took down all their sails, and 
availed themselves of every possible means 
of retarding their progress. 

All, however, was to little purpose. Night 



138 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

and darkness came on, and the vessel was 
still at the mercy of the storm ; nor had they 
now much hope of saving themselves. But 
what could they do ? Could they not do as 
the worshipers of Baal did in Elijah's time ? 
Could they not call on their gods ? for 
most of them were idolators. But would 
their thousands of gods — for they had them 
by thousands and tens of thousands — afford 
them relief? There was little sleep that 
night on board the vessel, unless Luke, Paul, 
and Aristarchus slept. They had the Chris- 
tian hope ; and though it was impossible for 
them not to be apprehensive for their safety, 
or at least sensible of their condition, they 
could commit themselves to Him who holds 
the winds in his grasp, and retire to their 
rest. 

Morning came, at length; but the violence 
of the storm was undiminished. They now 
concluded to throw their heaviest wares over- 
board. This was all they could do ; and 
even this was of very doubtful utility. 

Another stormy day and night passed 
away, in a manner not especially different 
from the first. The third day, in fact, came ; 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 139 

but still there was no improvement in their 
condition. All the spare tackling of the ship 
was this day committed to the waves, that 
the vessel might be as light as possible, and 
give them the greatest and best prospect of 
escaping the shoals and quicksands they every 
moment expected to encounter. 

Still, however, they were far from the 
shores of Africa. Their course was more 
to the west, and less to the south-west, than 
they supposed. They were in the middle, 
so to speak, of the great sea. The wind 
did not blow continually to the west and 
south-west, but shifted its course so often that 
sometimes, in the course of a very little time, 
it would blow from nearly every quarter of 
the horizon. This was one reason why they 
were not driven on so far as they expected. 

Thus they went on, day after day, and 
night after night, till the most stout-hearted 
of the ship's crew began to lose their courage. 
"All hope," says Luke in his journal — for 
the account in the " Acts," as given by Luke, 
seems like a journal — " that we should be 
saved was now taken away." He says that 
in their distress and anxiety they had not 



140 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

even taken their regular meals ; and some 
of them, it would appear, had hardly eaten 
enough to sustain life. In this distress, 
Paul could not refrain from reminding them 
of their error, at the Fair Havens, in not 
paying more attention to his advice. Not, 
indeed, in a way of triumph, but kindly. It 
was also accompanied by an encouragement. 
" I exhort you," said he, " to be of good 
cheer, for there shall be no loss of any man's 
life among you, but only of the ship. For 
there stood by me, this night, the angel 
(or messenger) of God, whose I am, and 
whom I serve, saying, Fear not, Paul ; thou 
must be brought before Cesar ; and lo ! God 
hath given thee all them that sail with thee." 
What sort of reception this address of Paul 
met with, Luke does not tell us. Though 
he and his companions were kindly treated 
by Julius, and, perhaps, by the rest, they 
were evidently looked upon, as the first 
Christians all were, as misguided men ; and 
some of them, in particular cases, were 
treated with downright contempt. 

But the stormy weather abated not, and 
the vessel continued to be driven, as Luke 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 141 

expresses it, " up and down in Adria." The 
ancients called all that part of the great 
Mediterranean Sea which adjoined the Gulf 
of Adria, properly so called, by the general 
name of Adria, or the Adriatic Sea. This 
will account for the expression of Luke to 
which I have referred. The vessel never 
entered what is now called the Adriatic Sea, 
lying between Italy and Dalmatia, but was 
tossed about between Crete and Malta. 

It was a severe trial to be thus tossed up 
and down for a fortnight ; and the trial was, 
doubtless, more severe than it w r ould be now. 
And yet this was the trial to which they w r ere 
subjected. Thirteen days of storm, wind, 
and suffering, had passed away, and the 
fourteenth had come ; and they were not yet 
a thousand miles from Crete, and, to earthly 
appearance, approaching no landing place. 
They had, indeed, Paul's assurance of final 
escape ; but we know not whether they placed 
much confidence in it. 

They alone can form any adequate con- 
ception of the sufferings Luke, Paul, and the 
rest underwent, who have been subjected to 
similar trials. Their abstinence from food, 



142 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

though an evil, was not the only evil to which 
they were subjected. Much of the time they 
could not sleep, even if they had been sup- 
plied with good beds. But who can suppose 
they had beds, except, perhaps, for a few of 
the officers ? Was a merchant vessel — a 
mere trading ship — on the Mediterranean ever 
so fitted out as to accommodate two hundred 
and seventy-six persons ? Yet, as Luke. 
tells us, they had this number of persons 
aboard. 

Luke and Paul, and, perhaps, Aristarchus, 
were accustomed to privation and suffering. 
Some of the crew of the vessel, too, had, 
doubtless, known something of a Levanter 
before now ; though this storm was, undoubt- 
edly, an unusually severe one, even for them. 
But to some on board, to whom the trial was 
new, or to whom the faith of Luke and Paul 
was unknown, it was a new and an unheard- 
of trial ; and the wonder concerning them is, 
not that they w r ere disturbed by it, but that 
they were not disturbed more than they 
were. 

But the fourteenth day was passing away, 
and the fourteenth night was approaching. 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 143 

Dark as their prospect had been all along, 
the darkness and danger were every night 
increasing. It was, indeed, a time which 
tried men's souls — even such men as Luke 
and Paul. 

To those who have not read a little work, 
written by the present author, entitled "Paul's 
Shipwreck," and who have not been par- 
ticipators in the sufferings incident to such 
occasions, it may not be uninteresting or un- 
acceptable to make a few extracts from it : — 

" These nights of suffering are, of course, 
dark ones. You go upon deck, perhaps, 
holding to something cautiously, lest the 
motion of the vessel should plunge you into 
the raging flood. What do you now behold ? 
No sun, moon, or stars. No light, save the 
dim torch of the helmsman, or when, as in 
the case of Paul, nobody is at the helm, no 
light even there. 

" You look, perhaps, for some distant 
light-house. No light-house can be seen. 
You hear the whistling of the winds ; you 
hear the roaring and dashing of the waves ; 
you feel the tossing of the vessel. Anon, 
perhaps, a wave, mightier than the rest, 



144 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

dashes across the deck, requiring your 
position to be a very secure one to prevent 
your being swept to the ocean's bed. You 
thejj retreat to the cabin. 

" There you lie down and attempt, it may 
be, to sleep. But the vessel tosses, and its 
timbers crack ; and, just as exhausted nature 
begins to impel a feeling of drowsiness, an- 
other huge wave gives such a shock to the 
vessel as dispels all this in an instant, 
and brings you again upon your feet. Has 
the ship foundered ? you ask. But you still 
feel her onward motion ; you hear no out- 
cry, nor any rush of water into the vessel. 
You, therefore, lie down again, and again 
attempt, in vain, to sleep." 

" There are pleasures mingled even with 
the pains of a storm at sea. It is fearfully 
interesting, amid the darkness of the night, 
to venture on deck, and see the vessel making 
its way through waves, as of flame. You are 
doubtless aware that, in some circumstances 
of a storm, and in some parts of the ocean, 
the waves, in the night, when the vessel 
ploughs through them, look like masses of 
fire. The cause of this phenomenon, I be- 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 145 

lieve, is not yet fully determined, though the 
conjectures about it have been numerous and 
various. Perhaps the conjecture that the sea, 
in these circumstances, abounds with a. mul- 
titude of small animals, which, like the fire- 
fly, and the glow-worm, are phosphores- 
cent and emit their light in the dark; 
and that these animals, put into very ra- 
pid motion by the vessel, produce the 
appearance I have mentioned, is as rational 
as any, 

" But there is also a kind of pleasure — 
to the good man at least — in beholding, in 
these circumstances, not merely the terrible, 
but the terribly sublime. See the waves 
of the great deep put in motion by the increas- 
ing storm. See them rise, higher and higher, 
and foam and roar, more and more, as they 
succeed one another, and, in quick succes- 
sion, break against the sides of the ship. 
See yonder vessel! In one moment it rides on 
the top of the highest surge ; in the next in- 
stant it sinks into the hollow behind it, and 
disappears. Soon again we see it struggling, 
as it were, with another wave ; till, at last, 
mounted on its top, it reels to and fro, for a 
'10 



146 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

moment, and again plunges deep into the 
next abyss. 

" So with the vessel in which we stand to 
behold it. At one time it is on the top of the 
huge wave, and you look down into a deep 
hollow, or abyss, from which you seem but 
the moment before to have emerged ; but 
anon you have again descended, and are 
again climbing the ocean hills to resume, 
once more, your elevated position. 

" The sight of waves, mountain high, is 
one of the scenes best calculated to remind 
us of omnipotence which can be witnessed 
on earth. Then, if ever, we feel our own 
littleness. Then, if ever, we think of the 
divine Majesty, and tremble and adore. 
Then, if ever, do we exercise trust in Him 
who holds the winds in his fist, and say, with 
the holy man of old, ' It is the Lord, let him 
do what seemeth to him good. Though he 
slay me, yet will I trust in him."' 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 147 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THE SHIPWRECK. 

About the middle of the fourteenth night 
of this remarkable voyage, the mariners 
began to suspect they were near land. 
What land it could be, they were wholly 
uncertain ; though it is probable they were 
still thinking of the African coast, and its 
quicksands and other dangers. 

On sounding, their suspicions were con- 
firmed. The depth of the water was about 
twenty fathoms, or one hundred and twenty 
feet. Presently they sounded again, and 
found it five fathoms less. They were now 
fully assured that land was not far off — it 
might be within the distance of a few fur- 
longs. 

AVhat would naturally distress them most, 
next to the dread of quicksands, was the fear 
of being dashed to pieces on some rocky 
coast, where, from the nature of the case, it 
would be difficult to escape. If Paul's as- 
surance of final safety had any influence 



148 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

upon them at the time it was given, they 
had doubtless forgotten it now. 

They venture, at length, to cast anchor. 
Luke says, " They cast four anchors out of 
the stern, and wished for the day." In this 
situation they waited, in painful suspense, 
till the dawning of the day should ar- 
rive. 

But as several hours must intervene before 
daybreak, and as the danger was imminent, 
since the anchors might drag along, or the 
disabled, crazy vessel go to pieces where 
she was, or at least be overset, the mariners 
conceived the cruel design of endeavoring to 
reach the shore in the ship's boat, and leave 
the prisoners and soldiers to take care of 
themselves. But Paul, by the influence he 
had with Julius, the centurion, defeated their 
design. " Except these abide in the ship," 
said he, " ye cannot be saved." 

But is not here a difficulty ? some will say. 
Had not the messenger of God to Paul as- 
sured him they would all escape ? What, then, 
did he mean in telling them that they could 
not be saved unless they did so and so ? If 
God had determined to have them saved, 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 149 

must they not have been saved, whether they 
had the mariners with them or not ? 

Now we should not forget that God works 
by means. He did not, in this case, pro- 
mise any miraculous aid to save the company. 
He determined, it is true, that they should 
be saved ; but he also determined the means 
of their safety. 

I have said that Paul, by the influence he 
had with Julius, frustrated the design of the 
mariners. For, though they had already 
lowered the boat, with a view to get into it, 
Paul, with Julius's permission, encouraged 
the soldiers to cut it away and let it fall into 
the sea. It was better for them to be with- 
out the boat, than without the mariners. 

Paul was now able to compose the people 
on board so far that they all sat down and 
took one regular meal — the first they had 
taken since the storm came on. He had 
even so far gained on their feelings and con- 
fidence that he was allowed to " say grace," 
as that is sometimes called, before they ate. 
" He took bread," says Luke, " and gave 
thanks to God, in the presence of them all ; 
and when he had broken it, he began to eat. 



150 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

Then were they of good cheer, and they also 
took some meat." 

As soon as breakfast was over, being well 
assured that their provisions and baggage must 
all perish with the vessel, and that before the 
hour of the next meal would arrive their fate 
would be decided, ill one way or another, 
they proceeded to strip the vessel of every- 
thing remaining in it which could add to its 
weight, even the wheat. Their object was 
to make it as light as possible. 

The day at length dawned, and at a little 
distance they saw land. As yet, however, 
they had no idea where they were — whether 
on the coast of Africa or Europe. Paul had, 
indeed, assured them, on the authority of the 
divine messenger who came to him, that they 
must be cast on an island ; but what island 
it was they had not the most distant con- 
ception. s 

The shore, where they were, was evidently 
rocky, but they thought, on examination, that 
they discovered one place where they might 
safely land. Their plan was, to weigh an- 
chor and run in, before the wind, as far as 
they could — in hopes, perhaps, that as the 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 



151 




' -V S TV- : --^: ->> 



vessel drew but little water, they should get 
so near the shore that they could walk from 
the vessel to the land. 

They accordingly lifted the anchors, and 
made all the sail they could with so shattered 
a vessel. But they failed in reaching the 
spot at which they aimed, and were driven 
on the point of a sand-bank, on either side 
of which was deep water. On this sand- 
bank the head, or bow, of the vessel stuck 
fast, while the stern was exposed to all the 
fur}" of the yet agitated sea. 

This was a moment of dismay to them all, 



152 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

for they clearly saw their condition. The 
ship, they knew, must soon go to pieces ; 
the question was, how, without so much as 
a single boat, they should be able to escape. 
There was no time, moreover, to be lost. 
Every minute of delay seemed to be at the 
hazard of their lives. They did not stop 
now to talk about a predetermination, on the 
part of God, that they should escape. They 
were ready to act at once. 

The soldiers, perceiving that they must all 
shift for themselves, and dreading the conse- 
quences of suffering any of the prisoners to 
escape, proposed to put them all to death — 
Luke and Paul among the rest. But Julius, 
the centurion, more for the sake of Paul than 
for any other reason, kept them from putting 
their wicked purpose into execution. 

It is well, in times like this, that there 
should be a due regard to authority. In the 
confusion which ensues on ship-board, in 
case of wrecks, thousands are lost who might 
have been saved. In the present instance, 
I know not what would have been the con- 
sequence if Julius had not exercised a little 
of his authority as a military commander. 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 153 

With sword in hand — as from the tenor 
of the narrative by Luke I have no doubt — 
he ordered them to make the best of their 
way to the shore. Those who could swim, 
were commanded to do so in the first place. 
Those who could not, were to seize on boards 
and broken fragments of the ship. 

No particular account is given of the man- 
ner in which the aged writer of the story 
escaped, or his companions, Paul and Aris- 
tarchus. Indeed, from what we have already 
learned of his singular modesty and forget- 
fulness of himself, we should not expect it. 
It would certainly be interesting to know — 
especially to know how Luke himself escaped. 
Was it by swimming? Few men, almost 
eighty years of age, would have courage to 
attempt such a thing unless compelled. But 
Luke was compelled to it, or to take his 
plank, or piece of timber. He does not care 
to tell us which. 

No matter, however, or at least not much; 
he reached the shore in safety, and so did 
all the rest. I have before stated the whole 
number of souls on board — it was two hun- 
dred and seventy-six. A most remarkable 



154 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

shipwreck it was, and most astonishing of 
all is the fact that not one of them was lost 
in getting on shore ; nor, so far as appears, 
in the least injured. 

I have read accounts of hundreds of re- 
markable shipwrecks ; and yet I do not 
recollect a single instance among them all 
of an escape so wonderful as this. Were 
all people wise and prudent — did all, in 
fact, possess great presence of mind, in the 
midst of danger — the case would be altered. 
But there are usually a few in every two hun- 
dred and seventy-six persons who have nei- 
ther of these qualities, and who lose their 
lives from mere want of self-command. 

It would, doubtless, be wrong to speak of 
the affair as miraculous ; and yet it comes 
very near being a miracle. Perhaps, indeed, 
there was miracle concerned in it. Paul's 
advice was founded on knowledge which he 
had received in a supernatural manner ; and 
I am in no wise sure that the confidence the 
crew and the soldiers come at length to re- 
pose in him, did not add to that self-command 
among them which may have greatly contri- 
buted to the final favorable result. 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 155 

CHAPTER XV. 

THREE MONTHS AT MALTA. 

• When they were all safe on shore, they 
ascertained where they were. The island 
on which they were cast was Melita, now 
called Malta. It is about one hundred and 
fifty miles from the southern extremity of 
Italy, and sixty from the coast of Sicily. It 
is said to have derived its ancient name, Me- 
lita, from the great abundance of honey it 
produced. 

Malta is about sixty miles in circumference, 
and contains about seventy thousand inhabit- 
ants ; though, according to some, it contains 
one hundred thousand ; about six hundred to 
the square mile. The present capital, Va- 
letta, contains forty thousand inhabitants, and 
has a harbor capable of affording shelter to 
five hundred vessels. 

The soil of the island, which is only about 
three feet deep, rests on a bed of rock ; but 
is greatly fruitful, as must be obvious from 
the fact that it contains such a dense popu- 
lation. It produces cotton in great abun- 



156 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

dance ; and two crops of excellent grain are 
said to be produced yearly. 

As to the condition of Malta, at the 
time Luke and Paul were shipwrecked on 
it, we know very little. Luke calls the in- 
habitants barbarous ; but this term is so 
loosely applied by mankind that we are but 
little the wiser for it. One nation calls 
another, with different manners and religion, 
barbarous. We learn something of the peo- 
ple of Malta from their treatment of the ship- 
wrecked company. 

These were no sooner on shore than the 
islanders did all they could for their relief. 
What they first wanted was fire to dry them- 
selves ; for it was late in the season, and the 
weather cold and chilly. They did not want 
to be robbed of everything they had remain- 
ing to them of any value — if, indeed, they 
had anything left but the clothes they wore, 
which is quite doubtful — and then left to shift 
for themselves, as has fallen to the lot of many 
who have been shipwrecked, even in Chris- 
tian countries ; but they needed to be com- 
forted. 

A large fire was therefore immediately 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 157 

kindled, probably on the shore of the island ; 
around which they gathered to dry their 
clothes. Luke does not tell us that they 
offered up thanks in a public manner for 
their deliverance. Yet I have no doubt 
that he, Paul, and Aristarchns gave thanks 
privately, if they did not even do it publicly, 
not only for their escape, but for the kind- 
ness and hospitality of the people among 
whom they had fallen. There is a wide 
difference between being stripped and plun- 
dered, and being warmed and felt for ; and, 
as we shall see in the end, fed and shel- 
tered. 

While they were warming themselves, 
and occasionally collecting together the 
necessary fuel — among which may, very 
probably, have been many stumps, and 
trunks of trees, partly decayed — a fierce and 
venomous reptile, which had been secreted 
in it, driven forth by the heat, fastened on 
Paul's hand. The translator of our Bible, 
from the original Greek in which it was 
written, makes Luke say it was a viper. 
But whether it was so or not, it was evidently 
an animal whose bite was considered imme- 



158 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

diately, or almost immediately, fatal. The 
bite of the viper was so in hot climates. 

The superstitious though kind inhabitants 
of Malta, when they saw this, immediately 
cried out against Paul, that he was some 
guilty criminal, "who, though he had escaped 
the sea, was deemed by the gods unfit to 
live." There is a maxim very generally 
prevalent, " Murder will out." Doubtless 
the people of Malta had adopted this maxim, 
for they concluded at once that Paul was a 
murderer ; and that he was at last found out, 
and doomed to sudden death by the bite of a 
viper. 

But they were for once, at least, mistaken. 
Paul simply shook off the reptile into the 
fire, and there was an end of the matter, so 
far as himself was concerned. Not so, how- 
ever, with the Maltese. Though they did 
not quite propose to worship Paul and Luke, 
calling the latter Jupiter and the former Mer- 
cury, they thought that Paul, at least, was a 
god, descended to dwell among them. 

The name of the Roman governor of 
Melita, or Malta, was Publius, and his 
residence was not far from the place of 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 159 

shipwreck. He was a man of great hos- 
pitality, especially to strangers. Hearing 
what had happened, and perhaps acquainted 
with Julius, though of this we know nothing 
certain, he sent for the whole company to 
come to his palace, where he entertained 
them three days at his own expense. 

In what particular way they were disposed 
of afterward, Luke does not say. He only 
informs us that they wintered on the island ; 
or, at least, spent three months there ; that 
they did much good while they were there ; 
and, in the end, as they were about to de- 
part, received many favors of the inhabitants. 
It is most likely they were distributed among 
the people of the island, somewhat according 
to their ability to receive and accommodate 
them. 

Nor was it a small thing, at that time, to 
receive and support, for three months, at their 
own expense, nearly three hundred people. 
According to the best conjectures which have 
been made on the subject, the population of 
Malta, at that time, was less than twenty 
thousand. This, at five persons to a family, 
would be four thousand families. It is, 



160 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

I repeat it, by no means a small matter for 
a little community of not more than four 
thousand families to accommodate, all winter, 
two hundred and seventy-six persons. 

We have reason to believe, however, from 
Luke's account of what took place during 
the winter, and at their departure, that their 
hospitality was not regretted. I have said 
that Paul and he did much good while there. 
Let us see what it was. 

The father of Publius, the Roman go- 
vernor, being ill, at the time of their arrival on 
the island, Paul visited him. I do not know 
that they were acquainted with the fact that 
Luke was a physician ; or, if they were, that 
they cared to employ him as such. Doubt- 
less they had physicians on the island, to 
whom they had already applied. They had 
heard, as we may judge, of Paul's power to 
work miracles, and they preferred a miracle, 
no doubt, to medicine. 

The disease was severe — a combination, 
in all probability, of typhus fever, with dys- 
entery. Paul, having prayed with the aged 
sick man, and laid his hands upon him, the 
disease left him, immediately. This was 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 161 

noised through the island, at once, as might 
naturally be expected. 

The consequence was, that the rest of the 
inhabitants brought their sick to be cured, or 
invited Paul and Luke to their houses, for 
the same purpose. This opened to them a 
door to do good, not only to the bodies, but 
to the souls of the poor benighted but kind- 
hearted islanders. 

Paul and his companions had a double 
motive to do good to the people of Malta. 
They were glad, no doubt, to make them a 
return for their hospitalities. They certainly 
deserved a return. But they were still more 
glad to seize every opportunity of gaining 
access to their hearts : or, at least, to soften 
their prejudices, and prepare the way for 
somebody else to do them good who should 
come there afterward. 

This last idea is one of much importance. 
We sometimes forget, if we cannot do the 
good ourselves, that it is of the next import- 
ance to do all we can to make it easy for 
those who come after us to do it. We are 
not willing enough to have patience, like the 
husbandman, who waits long for his crops. 
11 



162 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

Sometimes, too, in the natural world, " one 
soweth and another reapeth ;" but, in moral 
and religious matters, we seem to think we 
are doing nothing at all, if we cannot reap 
almost on the same day with that of our 
sowing. 

In this point of view, I often rejoice greatly 
at the efforts which are making in these days, 
in behalf of seamen. They go out to all 
parts of the world, and are shipwrecked in 
almost every part of it. Now, suppose all 
these shipwrecked mariners were as good 
men as Luke, Paul, and Aristarchus. I do 
not say as wise men, or men as able to work 
miracles, for that is not to be expected. But 
suppose, I say, they were all men of solid 
piety. What a preparation they would make 
for subsequent missionary laborers ! Nay, 
more than this ; they would be missionaries 
themselves, and of the very best kind. 

And have we not reason to hope that these 
very labors of Luke and Paul, at Malta — 
for Luke, we may be assured, was not a 
mere idle spectator for three whole months 
— were the means of converting some of the 
islanders ? Luke makes special mention of 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 163 

the kindness which was manifested toward 
the company when they were about to de- 
part. They not only conferred many honors 
upon them, but furnished them with the 
things necessary for the rest of their journey. 
May we not hope, I again say, that the Holy 
Spirit had touched their hearts ? 

One thought more. How great the good 
which may come to us from the mere fact 
of having a few holy men in our company ! 
Bad as were Sodom and Gomorrah, and the 
cities of the plain, they would not have been 
destroyed, as they were, had there been but 
ten good people found there. Good people 
are the salt of the earth. A mere handful, 
though they are, they not only preserve the 
rest of the world from destruction, but cause 
them to be laden with many honors. So Luke, 
Paul, and Aristarchus, were instruments of 
great good to the two hundred and seventy- 
six persons on board the vessel which was 
shipwrecked at Malta. 

Have we ever thought how much good 
they did them ? Their lives, we know, they 
were the means of saving ; but was this all ? 
Was no impression made upon their hearts ? 



164 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

We cannot believe it. It would be unnatu- 
ral to do so. Human nature is not so con- 
stituted, even when most perverted, as to 
remain unmoved by such unexpected kind- 
ness. 

We cannot, of course, believe, as some 
have done, that when the heavenly mes- 
senger told Paul, by way of anticipation, 
" Lo, God hath given thee all them that sail 
with thee !" he had any reference to their 
spiritual safety, or salvation. Still, I again 
say, it is impossible that some of them should 
not have had their hearts turned to the new 
religion by what they had witnessed, both at 
sea and on the land. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

JOURNEY FROM MALTA TO ROME. 

The winters at Malta are much shorter 
than ours. If Luke and the rest were ship- 
wrecked on that island in November — and 
I think they were so, notwithstanding the 
opinion is received, by some commentators, 
that it was a month earlier — then they pro- 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 165 

bably left for Rome in February. It is, in- 
deed, true, that when the evangelist says, 
that, " after three months," they departed, 
he does not say, after three months, to a day 
or a week. It is possible, therefore, that 
they may have stayed there till early in 
March. 

In any event, the winter was broken up 
when they left Malta ; for Luke says they 
" went in a ship of Alexandria, which had 
wintered in the isle ;" and if, when he says 
three months, we construe his words very 
literally, we may do the same in the present 
case, and say, that if the vessel had wintered 
there, w r e may conclude winter was now 
over. 

Whether they sailed for Rome in the first 
vessel which could furnish them a passage, 
we cannot determine. One thing is highly 
probable, that Julius would be glad to get 
his prisoners on as fast as possible. Nor 
would he or any of the rest of the ship- 
wrecked company, unless they were meaner 
than I suppose they were, be willing to com- 
pel the generous Maltese to keep them longer 
than was absolutely necessary. 



166 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

They first sailed for Syracuse, on the 
eastern coast of the island of Sicily. This 
was fifty or sixty miles ; and probably took 
up one day. Here they remained about 
three days ; but why they stopped here, ex- 
cept for a single night, we are not informed. 
It was not, of course, to visit the city or its 
curiosities : for the circumstances in which 
they were placed did not permit them to 
stop anywhere merely to gratify curiosity. 
It is said of Howard, that, in his mission of 
mercy to prisoners, he " went through Rome 
without seeing Rome ;" that is, without visit- 
ing the places of greatest interest in it ; and 
missionaries are often compelled to pass 
through cities and countries without seeing 
much of them ; and prisoners, always, 

Syracuse, at that time, was large and popu- 
lous ; but, perhaps, less distinguished than 
it had been a few centuries before. It was 
built about seven hundred and thirty years 
before Christ. It was thirty miles south- 
east of Cesarea, and eighty miles from 
Messina. 

At the present day Syracuse is only three 
miles in circumference, with a population of 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 167 

fifteen thousand. It is a regularly-walled 
city, entered by draw-bridges. The streets 
are very narrow. It has a mild, but by no 
means healthful climate. 

From Syracuse they went to Rhegium, 
which was fifty or sixty miles further. 
Rhegium is near the southern extremity of 
Italy, and is now called Reggio. It is little 
more than a good village, containing, accord- 
ing to most writers, only seven or eight thou- 
sand inhabitants. 

From Rhegium to Rome, by water, is 
about one hundred and fifty miles — though 
it is a little further by land. They stopped 
at Rhegium about one day ; detained, as 
perhaps they had been at Syracuse, by 
unfavorable winds. The city is nearly op- 
posite to Messina, in Sicily ; and is in the 
midst of a most charming country. 

A south wind now sprung up, and blew 
softly, and they set sail for Puteoli. This 
was a distance of two hundred miles or more, 
in a north-western direction ; but was tra- 
versed, it would seem, in the present instance, 
in about two days — including, probably, one 
or two nights. Puteoli, now Pozzuoli, is 



168 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

only eight miles from the city of Naples. It 
was once famous for its hot baths. 

Near Puteoli — between it and the city of 
Naples — is the famous road called the Com 
panion Way. It is cut through a hill half a 
mile in length, and is paved with volcanic 
lava. Near it, all along, are towns, supposed 
to have been, at some time or other, used 
as tombs. Tradition says that the tomb of 
Virgil, the poet, was here. 

At this place Paul, Luke, and Aristarchus 
were agreeably surprised at meeting a few 
Christian friends and brethren. By whom 
they had received the gospel is not known. 
These brethren besought Luke and Paul to 
remain with them until after the sabbath was 
over, to which they consented. 

But how could this happen ? Must they 
not remain with the vessel ? Would Julius, 
the centurion, permit his prisoners to land, 
and remain several days, or a week, within 
one hundred and twenty or one huudred and 
twenty-five miles of Rome ; especially after 
the delay of a whole winter at Malta ? And 
yet Luke expressly says they remained. 

My solution of the difficulty is this : — At 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 169 

the special request of Paul, Julius permitted 
him to remain a few days, and then go on to 
Rome by land. It was not usual to put so 
much confidence in prisoners ; but Paul, it 
was clearly discovered, was no ordinary man, 
and Julius dismissed all fears concerning him. 
As for Luke and Aristarchus, who, as we 
have reason to believe, went out with Paul 
of their own accord, there would be no diffi- 
culty about them. 

The vessel being gone, they remained at 
Puteoli till Monday, and then went on by 
land to Rome. They may not have walked ; 
and yet I presume to affirm that they did so. 
Luke could walk, no doubt, at least for a 
day or two. 

At Appii Forum, about half way to Rome, 
they were met by a number of Christians 
from that city. The vessel had probably ar- 
rived, and brought news that Paul, the pri- 
soner, and his companions, were on the road, 
and a deputation from the church at Rome 
had come out to meet them, and convey them 
thither. 

Were there Christians, then, at Puteoli 
and Rome thus early ? And if so, by what 



170 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

agency ? Had any one been out from Pa- 
lestine a missionary to these parts ? If so, 
who was it ? Not surely Luke and Paul 
themselves. 

The reply to all these queries is easy. 
We are expressly assured that there were 
Romans in Jerusalem on the day of Pente- 
cost ; and nothing is more natural than to 
suppose that some of them became converted 
and carried Christianity back with them to 
Rome, whence it extended to Puteoli and 
other cities of Italy, especially those imme- 
diately adjacent. 

It is also a generally-admitted fact that 
Paul's long letter, or epistle to the Romans, 
was written several years before his arrival 
at Rome as a prisoner. If so, there were 
Christians there, of course, in whatever way 
they were introduced, or converted. These 
Christians, moreover, would greatly rejoice 
at the opportunity of seeing, face to face, 
though it were in chains, one for whom they 
could not but have had a particular esteem, 
as well as an undying affection. 

We have no reason to believe that Luke, 
Paul, and Aristarchus remained long at Ap- 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 171 

pii Forum. First ; because there was no- 
thing there, in particular, to interest them. 
It was only a small market-town, on the 
great road, called the Appian Way, leading 
from Rome to Capua. Secondly ; because 
they do not appear to have asked permission 
to stop there ; and prisoners, in these cir- 
cumstances, would do wrong to go beyond 
the wishes, or expectations even, of those 
who hold them in their custody. Thirdly ; 
because Luke has said nothing about it. 

Twenty miles further toward Rome they 
met more of the Roman Christians. It was 
at a place which had obtained the singular 
name of the Three Taverns. They were 
received with great joy, though strangers. 
The love of such men as Luke and Paul for 
those who bear the image of our Lord and 
Saviour is not bounded by distance, or lan- 
guage, or color. " My mother and brethren," 
they could say, " are they which hear the 
word of God and do it." 

On arriving at the Three Taverns they made 
a special acknowledgment of their gratitude 
to God, and took new courage. They had 
but thirty miles to go. It was in some re» 



172 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

spects agreeable, no doubt, to reach the 
journey's end, even though one of their num- 
ber, at least, was destined to confinement in 
prison. 

But their journey is at length finished. 
They reach the city of Rome, and Paul, as 
it became him, delivered himself up to Julius, 
the centurion, to be disposed of as was 
thought best. Julius delivered him to the 
proper officer, which, as Luke says, was the 
captain of the guard. 

Paul was retained a prisoner, but with 
many indulgences. He was permitted to 
dwell in his own hired house, with a single 
soldier to guard him. Here he spent two 
years. All we learn of him further is, that 
he called together the principal Jews at 
Rome, three days after his arrival, and made 
a full and free statement of his case ; and 
that the statement was so clear and convinc- 
ing that all were satisfied, and some believed ; 
and also that, for the whole two years, he 
made his house a place of public instruction, 
" receiving all that came in unto him, preach- 
ing the kingdom of God and teaching those 
things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 173 

with all confidence, no man forbidding 
him." 

That Luke and Aristarchus had full and 
free access to him, though he was permitted 
to have no constant society but a single sol- 
dier, is beyond a doubt. But whether they 
remained in Rome the whole time is uncer- 
tain, as well as how they were employed. 
We hear no more of them ; and from the fact 
that Luke was now very old — nearly eighty 
— it is generally believed that his active life 
terminated about this period, or soon after- 
ward. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

CONCLUDING REMARKS. 

It is a striking fact that the Bible says 
so little of the death, even of the best men. 
Their lives, so far as is useful, or, at least, 
necessary to our salvation, are faithfully re- 
corded ; but of their death, generally, we 
know very little. 

So of Luke and Paul, and Aristarchus. 
Notwithstanding a thousand conjectures and 



174 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

a few traditions, we know nothing, with cer- 
tainty, concerning any of them beyond what 
has been stated in the preceding chapters. 
Of course, Luke could not be expected to 
give us an account of his own death ; but it 
is natural to wonder why he does not give 
us a little more of the detail of his life. 

The general belief is, that Paul, after two 
years of imprisonment at Rome, was libe- 
rated ; but that, in his subsequent travels, 
Luke was not with him. But, if not, where 
was he ? It is said he passed over into 
Achaia, where he died, at the age of eighty- 
four years. 

I have said that we know nothing, with 
certainty, concerning him, after his arrival 
with Paul at Rome. We know, to be sure, 
that he lived long enough to write the Acts 
of the Apostles ; and that, if he wrote the 
closing verses of these Acts, he must have 
been alive, at least, two years afterward. 
Paul, also, in a letter to Timothy, which it 
seems almost certain was written from Rome, 
says that Luke was then with him. 

When and where he wrote his Gospel, and 
compiled the Acts, are entirely matters of 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 175 

conjecture. It is natural enough to believe 
they were written while he was at Rome, 
awaiting Paul's trial. And yet it is certainly 
possible his time was so taken up till Paul 
was liberated, that he deferred the work to 
a later hour of the evening of his life. 

It has been said already that the common 
tradition is, that Luke died at Achaia, at the 
age of eighty-four ; and this is spoken of as 
a very advanced age. So it certainly is in 
one point of view — I mean in comparison 
with the age to which most of the apostles 
and first propagators of Christianity attained, 
if tradition can be at all relied on : for ac- 
cording to this they almost all fell victims to 
martyrdom at a somewhat early age. 

And yet, in another point of view, the age 
of eighty-four was not so very remarkable. 
John, the favorite of his Master — a man of 
great temperance, purity, and peace — is said 
to have lived to about the age of one hun- 
dred. And I know of no reason why a man 
of Luke's constitution of body and mind 
should not last as long, unless cut off prema- 
turely by violence. 

But if so, what a long season the good 



176 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

man must have enjoyed for deeds of Chris- 
tian charity — saying nothing of his ability to 
preach. Some look forward to the evening 
of life as a gloomy, cheerless season, little 
better, at best, than death, and often a season 
of unmixed pain and suffering of body and 
mind. Yet if we live as John and Luke 
probably did, age might be like a happy 
winter's evening, which we seldom, if ever, 
regard as too long, and which we sometimes 
wish were even very much longer. 

In closing my account of the life, charac- 
ter, labors, and travels of this great man, it 
may not be amiss just to notice a few of the 
traditions of the learned concerning him. 
They are not, indeed, necessary ; and yet, 
to many, they may have a little interest. 

One tradition concerning him is, that he 
was a Syrian, and that he became a convert 
to Christianity at Antioch. We have already 
seen that there are reasons for believing he 
was acquainted with Christianity long before 
there was a church planted there. 

This induces me to speak of one thing 
mentioned by Calmet, in his Dictionary. He 
labors long and earnestly — and, as I think, 



THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 177 

with some reason — to show that, w T hen the 
two disciples of Christ, soon after his cruci- 
fixion, were walking together from Jerusa- 
lem to Emmaus, Luke was one of them. 
But if he were so, then the foregoing tradi- 
tion cannot, of course, be true. Neither can 
it, if he were one of the " seventy," according 
to another tradition, which, however, has less 
the appearance of truth. 

It is said that, in the earlier part of his life, 
he practiced medicine at Rome. But if there 
is the slightest reason for this opinion I have 
not yet become acquainted with it. Had 
tradition assured us that he did this in his 
old age, it would have had much more the 
appearance of being founded in truth— -be- 
cause we know he was actually at Rome in 
his old age ; and we have great reason for 
believing that, after Paul's liberation, he was 
there alone. 

I have presented it as my belief, in the begin- 
ning of this book, that Luke and Lucius, of 
Cyrene, were the same person ; and I have 
not done it without long and patient investi- 
gation. Scott, it is true, in speaking of Luke, 
says Lucius, of Cyrene, " seems to have 
12 



178 THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 

been another person." He may have had rea- 
sons for this opinion, but I believe he has 
not given them. 

Some have regarded him as a Gentile con- 
vert, and even as having no Jewish connec- 
tions. I have already given it as my opinion 
that he was not a Jew. And yet I think he 
was not fully a Gentile. At least, I think, 
there was a Jewish connection, in one way 
or another. 

If he were the same with Lucius, the 
" kinsman" of Paul, that fact would settle 
the question in favor of a Jewish connection. 
But it is cheerfully conceded that the fact is 
not proved. I believe it is true that he was 
so, when I take all things which we know 
concerning him into the account ; but yet I 
cannot prove it. 

All these things, I repeat it, are interest- 
ing, very much so. Yet the time will come 
when we shall think far less than now of 
these earthly origins and relationships, and 
far more of our relationships spiritually. To 
have been born in such or such a place, or 
to descend from such a particular family or 
stock, however gratifying it may be, will be 






THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN. 179 

considered as of little consequence, compared 
with our relation to Christ Jesus. To have 
been born anew, of water and of the Spirit ; 
to belong to Christ's kingdom ; to be his 
disciple — his soldier — above all, his friend 
and brother, and to have God as our Father 
— these will be the true honors and the real 
nobility. Our great purpose in this world, 
whatever minor purposes and objects we may 
have, is to become sons and daughters of 
the Lord Almighty. 



THE END. 



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